Don't Leave
by D1N0
Summary: Ever since that visit in the hospital, Mikoto has caught the attention of Tatara Totsuka's sister, Kumiko Totsuka. Will getting involved with Mikoto be troublesome? Or will she love every minute of his company? [Takes place mostly during episodes 6 & 10-13] (Mikoto x OC)
1. Meeting

**Hi!  
This is my story for K Project! Just like most people in the fandom, I'm mourning Mikoto's death as well. lol. So as a result of my grief, this story was born! I hope you can enjoy it and don't be afraid to give feedback! :) It's much appreciated!  
This story takes place in episodes 6 and 10-13. So there will be some familiar scenes. :)**

**Disclaimer: K Project written by ****GoRA**

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"Onee-chan?"

"Tatara? What's wrong?" Kumiko Totsuka, older sister of Tatara Totsuka, wondered.

"Uh…ehe…can…can you come to Shizume Hospital…please?"

"What? What happened?"

"Just please come here and I'll tell you, okay?"

Kumiko sighed. "Alright."

She snapped her phone shut in slight anger. "Tatara…please be okay…"

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Sixteen-year old, Mikoto Suoh lazily lounged at HOMRA bar, staring off into space not really paying attention to his drink in front of him.

"By the way, Mikoto," his friend, Izumo Kusanagi said. "I understand that some middle school kid's been stalking you lately."

Mikoto grunted and said, "You mean that annoying brat?"

"It's strange. Hanging around a guy who hates keeping friends and hates it when people kiss up to him—" Izumo was cut off by the ringing of a telephone. He walked over to the phone and said before picking it up, "that kid's got balls."

"HOMRA," he answered.

As Izumo was speaking on the phone, the tone of his voice changed, causing Mikoto to look back at his friend.

"Uh…okay. Thanks," he placed the phone back on the receiver. "How should I tell you this…?"

"Tell me what?"

"It's about that kid who wants to work for you. He was beaten up on the street and taken to the hospital."

Mikoto took in what Izumo said and let out an annoyed, "tch."

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"Ah! Onee-chan!"

Kumiko stared in shock as she saw her younger brother in terrible condition. His left leg was in a cast, his left arm was in a cast as well as a sling, his head was bandaged, and to top it off, his left cheek had a bandage on it.

"Tatara! What in the world happened to you!?" She said and sat down next to him.

"Well…uh…hehe…I got beat up on the street."

"By who? Do I know the person? I'm gonna put him through the same—"

Tatara laughed. "Hey don't worry! I'm fine now!"

She sighed. "You need to be more careful, Tatara. You always make me worry when you do some reckless things."

Now Tatara felt a little guilty. "Sorry, Onee-chan…"

She smiled and poked him to try and lighten the mood.

The door opened to reveal Mikoto and Izumo. Tatara gasped and said "Hey! What brings you here, King?"

Kumiko and Izumo both said, "King?"

The two guys finally noticed Kumiko in the room and vice versa. '_Eh? Mikoto Suoh? From school? Why is he here?_' Kumiko thought to herself.

"Who is this beautiful lady?" Izumo said, snapping Kumiko out of her thoughts. She looked at the blond in front of her and just blinked. After processing what he just said, she just furrowed her brows, crossed her arms, and turned her head.

"I'm his sister."

"Who did this to you?" Mikoto asked, interrupting the two. Tatara just smiled and laid his head back on the pillow.

"Look, kid," Izumo began. "If you hang around this guy, you'll end up like this again. You might think you'll be safe near someone strong, but it's the exact opposite."

Kumiko sent Tatara a look as if to say, "listen to him."

Tatara smiled and said, "Okay! I'll be careful from now on."

Izumo and Kumiko sighed. "Kid, let me say this again—"

He was cut off when Mikoto slammed his foot on the bed, causing Tatara to gasp. Kumiko sent him a death glare. "Hey!" She shouted.

"I asked who did this to you."

The atmosphere in the room changed as the tone in Tatara's voice changed to a serious one. "Before I tell you, King, I have a huge favor to ask. Will you hear me out?"

Mikoto nodded his head and awaited his answer, as did everyone else in the room. "My foot…it itches like hell! Could you scratch it for me?"

"Eh?" Izumo and Kumiko said.

Mikoto just stared at him before letting out a frustrated sigh and placing his hand on Tatara's leg.

"Yes!"

Tatara thought that he was going to receive a foot scratch. However, Mikoto balled his hand into a fist and hit him on the top of the head.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Kumiko shouted and stood up. Mikoto just walked out of the room, leaving Izumo, Tatara, and an angry Kumiko.

"Ouch!" The injured teen said and rubbed his head.

"Are you okay?" Kumiko asked. He didn't respond and kept rubbing his head.

"You're one reckless kid! Don't blame me if he kills you," Izumo told him.

Despite the situation, Tatara smiled and said, "hey, don't sweat it! It'll all work out! I'm going to become the king's vassal."

His response left Izumo and Kumiko dumbfounded and they just stared at him.

"That guy's going to become someone great. He might become like a real king, don't you think?"

Kumiko smiled at while Izumo still stared at him. "Well, just be more careful," Izumo said and waved to the two, goodbye.

Now it was just the two siblings. For some reason, Kumiko couldn't take her eyes off of the door. She's always seen Mikoto around at school, but she's never really been that close to him, let alone talk to him. '_Strange guy_...'

"Onee-chan?"

Kumiko snapped out of her reverie and turned her attention to her brother. "Mm?"

"What are you staring at?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

Tatara gave her a grin. "Why are you looking at me like a creep, Tatara?"

"Did that guy's pick up lines sweep you off of your feet?"

Kumiko blushed and flicked Tatara on the nose.

"Ow," he said and rubbed his nose.

"You just ask for beatings don't you?"

"Am I right?"

"NO. You are totally wrong. Anyways, why do you even follow Mikoto Suoh around? His friend even said it's dangerous. Then again, you love to get yourself in trouble…"

He smiled. "It's like I said, he's going to become someone great. And I wanna be by his side when he becomes a true king one day!"

Kumiko stared at her brother then continued to stare at the door. '_Who is Mikoto_ Suoh?'

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**First chapter complete! How was it? I hope it was enjoyable. :) If not, I'll strive to improve!  
Please review and see you in the next chapters! :D**


	2. Just a Friend

**Hello again awesome readers! :D  
I was honestly surprised that the first chapter did so well! It made me very happay! Thank you for those who reviewed, favored, followed, and just read it. :) I have quite a bit of chapters finished, so maybe I can update more. I don't know. But…since I have writer's block in the story, I'll just post this chapter and hope an idea comes along the way.  
ENJOY!**

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**THE NEXT WEEK**

"Tatara! I'm off to school! Don't forget to lock up when you leave!"

"Okay!"

Kumiko closed the door of her house and started off to school. At school, she couldn't help but stop thinking about Mikoto. Something about his visit at the hospital last week had piqued her interest. Not to mention Tatara always talks about how he wants to become Mikoto's "vassal." The constant talk about Mikoto and the thoughts about him at school made her want to explode.

Kumiko arrived at school, changed into her indoor shoes, and walked off to class. She sat down in her seat and just stared out the window, thinking about the red head.

"Kumiko-chan!" Someone yelled out.

Kumiko looked up to see her classmate, Noemi Takahashi, come up to her desk.

"Mm? Oh. Hi, Noemi."

Kumiko didn't want to deal with Noemi today. Actually, when did she feel like dealing with her? She pretends to be this nice, and happy girl when in reality, she's not. She's known her since elementary school, and from then to middle school, she was always so rude to her. It wasn't until high school that she began to be nice to her.

"Do you need anything?"

"Yeah! Well there's this…"

Kumiko spaced out. Not too long after, Mikoto had walked into the classroom and she watched him enter. When he looked at her, she turned her gaze away.

"So? What do you say?" Noemi asked.

"Huh?"

"Good morning, class!" Their teacher said. "Please take your seats."

"I'll talk to you about it later," Noemi said.

"Caaaan't wait."

While the teacher was teaching, Kumiko would glance at Mikoto every so often. One time, Mikoto stared back at her, causing her to blush and turn her attention back to the teacher. For the rest of the class, she felt his eyes on her. Oh how she wanted it to be lunch already!

"Totsuka-san," the teacher said, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Can you please add on to what Takahashi-san said about how animals were used in World War II."

"Americans thought that Japanese had a 'scent' different for them. So they assigned some soldiers to use dogs to try and sniff Japanese soldiers serving in the American military in hopes that the dogs could search for the hiding Japanese military and find them."

The students could be heard attempting to hold back their laughter, confusing Kumiko.

"Good job! That answer would be acceptable if we were actually talking about social studies. But for now, we are doing mathematics. Please pay attention next time."

"Sorry..." Kumiko sighed and ran her hand through her hair. She heard Mikoto make a noise and she looked at him to see he had a small smirk plastered on his face. She blushed and did her best to ignore him for the rest of the time. This proved to be hard, however. From the corner of her eye, she could see Mikoto's head slightly turned in her direction. Kumiko wanted to ask him what his problem was. But she was already caught for not paying attention. She couldn't get caught for talking in class. So she stared at the clock over the teacher and counted down the seconds until the bell rang.

_5...4...3...2...1_

"Okay! Go enjoy your lunches!"

Kumiko shot up out of her seat and headed out to her spot under the tree where she normally eats. She opened her bento and was about to dig in, but stopped when she saw a shadow in front of her.

"How's your brother?"

She whipped her head around and saw Mikoto staring down at her with a blank face. "Hm. He's recovering, but still reckless as ever. Sometimes I worry because of how outgoing he is. He might start to converse with the wrong people and end up like how he was last week."

He stared at her a while longer before sitting down next to her and taking some of her food.

"S-SUOH-SAN!"

He completely ignored her fit and said, "Mikoto's fine."

"I-It feels weird calling you that. And tell me why you kept staring at me in class."

He ignored her again and continued to eat as he stared off into space.

She calmed down somewhat and asked him, "would you ever tell my brother that he could, as he called it, 'become the king's vassal'?"

"Hm…" Mikoto sighed.

"Well if the day ever comes when you say that he can 'work for you', then you'll have a lot on your hands. But…Tatara's a nice and VERY loyal person."

Kumiko began to pack up her lunch, but was stopped when Mikoto asked, "he say anything else about the bullying?"

Kumiko looked at Mikoto. "No. Not really. He talks about being a follower to the king though," she smiled. "Why?"

Mikoto doesn't respond.

"Well, if he did—no. Would you defend Tatara? I mean, it sounded like you would when you asked him who hurt him."

No response

She pouted. "Mikoto Suoh, have you ever held a conversation that's lasted at least one minute?"

"I'm talking to you for a while aren't I?"

"This isn't really a conversation. It's just like me talking to a wall."

He furrowed his eyebrows at her. "Tch."

A smile graced her lips as she stood up. "Anyways, I know you wouldn't let harm come to anyone on purpose. Tatara believes you're a good person. And so do I. See you in class!"

The last thing that Kumiko had left Mikoto with rang throughout his head. People normally didn't get too close to Mikoto because some were scared and some just were too intimidated. But Kumiko had talked to him as if he were an old chum. She didn't even stutter or widen her eyes in fear when he approached her. He continued to stare at her when she left. "Hm," was all he said.

The rest of the day carried on like any other normal school day, only Mikoto now thought a lot about Kumiko and what she said to him. He felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. Having someone tell him directly that he was a nice person…was a nice feeling.

After clean up, Kumiko began to walk home. She wondered what to make for dinner since it _was _her turn to cook. Then her mind switched to how Tatara was doing. Was he being reckless? Or was he just sitting, reading? Ever since he was attacked, she's grown more worried.

"Huuuhh…oh?" She saw a familiar red-head walking by himself, receiving various looks from others. She decided to sneak up to him and tap his shoulder. He looked to the side, but didn't see anyone there.

"Tch," Mikoto angrily growled and continued to walk. From the corner of his eye, he saw brown locks. He now looked fully at Kumiko who was smiling at him.

"Hey!" She said.

"Hm."

"Do you normally walk home alone?"

"Yeah."

"You're actually talking to me! I'm glad."

He just stared at her and huffed as he continued to walk.

"Mm…maybe not. But it's something. Do you walk with anyone at all?"

Mikoto stayed quiet.

"What about that guy that came with you to visit Tatara?"

"Izumo's already graduated."

"Oh…well I'm gonna walk home with you sometimes now, okay?"

"You're just like your brother."

She pouted and crossed her arms. "No I'm not."

"Exactly…like him."

"Whatever…"

They continued to talk as they walked home. Well, Kumiko continued to talk as Mikoto would just respond with "hm", give her small responses, or just stare off into space. Kumiko arrived at her house and waved goodbye to him.

"Onee-chan," Tatara said. "Do you always hang out with King?"

She turned around and furrowed her brows. "Wow. Stalker much?"

He widened his eyes and stuttered, "n-no! I just heard you outside talking to someone! So I looked to see and it turned out it was King."

She laughed and ruffled his hair. "I'm just kidding, Tatara. I'm gonna make spaghetti. Is that alright?"

"Mhm," he said and plopped down on the couch. "You didn't answer my question. Do you always hang out with King?"

"No. Not really. I just talked with him a bit today and walked home with him. Nothing more."

"Ahhh. Ne, Onee-chan? Do you like him?"

She blushed and dropped the dishes. "He-he's a very nice person. Therefore, I like him as a friend."

"Friend, huh?"

"Tatara Totsuka," she said and stopped picking the dishes up. He knew he was in for it when she used his full name. "Mikoto Suoh is just my friend."

He put his hands up in mock surrender and gave a nervous laugh. "I was just wondering."

"Good. Now stop wondering."

For the rest of the cooking process, Tatara stayed silent, doing his own thing. In addition, Kumiko thought she had a permanent blush on her face after that conversation with her younger brother.

"Onee-chan?"

"WHAT?" She said a little too fast.

"Are you okay?"

"I am perfectly fine! Never better! Now eat your food."

"I have never seen you so flustered before!"

"TATARA TOTSUKA...stop it."

"Why are you acting like this?" Tatara asked, completely aware of why she was like this.

"Leave me alone..." she said and took a sip of water.

"So what did King say to make you fall for him?"

She choked on her water and got up to clean her dishes. Once she calmed down, she said. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

She ran upstairs and slammed the door.

'Just_ a friend, _Kumiko thought. _He's just a friend. Nothing more. I mean, he…he doesn't talk a lot. Yeah that's it. He spaces off most of the_ time.'She knew that wasn't a reason to not like him. Even though he was quiet, she still loved talking to him and enjoyed his company.

She gripped at her hair and rolled around on her bed. "Gaaahhhh!"

From downstairs, Tatara chuckled and drank his tea. "Yup. Just a friend, Onee-chan."

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**Tee-hee! I love writing Totsuka's character. But to me, he feels a little bit OOC… oh well. I'll try to fix it if it needs fixing. :) But I hope you liked this chapter! See you in the next one!**


	3. Attacked

**Hi, readers! :D Okay, so there was some constructive criticism in the last chapter for some technical things. But it made me happy! :D Everyone makes silly mistakes and I'm learning how to become a better writer thanks to you guys! But wow. I made such simple mistakes. Anyways, thanks again for helping me out! I tried to make this chapter not so derpy. But if there are any technical problems, I shall fix them!**

**ON TO LE STORY!**

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**ONE MONTH LATER**

"Here, Mikoto," Kumiko said as she handed him a bento.

"Mm? What is this?"

"That? Oh well it's a new car."

"Tch," he scoffed and opened it.

"What? You asked. And it's obviously a bento. Why did you ask?"

"Why'd you make it?" He asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Can't I make a bento without having my motives being questioned?"

He huffed and continued to eat.

Within the month of knowing each other, Kumiko and Mikoto have hung around each other more often. Eventually, she became comfortable calling him by his first name as well. This also caused some gossip. Many students like and admire Kumiko and couldn't believe she would hang out with Mikoto. However, she didn't really notice. She was oblivious to many things, the gossip and admiration being two of those things. But one thing she was aware of, was that she possibly had feelings for the short-tempered person sitting beside her.

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"Alright, class! You're dismissed!"

"Mikoto," Kumiko said. "I have errands to take care of. So I can't walk with you today. Sorry…"

"Hm," he said and began walking out on his own.

_Bzz Bzz Bzz_

"Hello?" Kumiko answered.

"Uh…we're out of vegetables. Are you still at school?"

"I know I saw that. I'm walking to the store now. Don't worry, Tatara!"

He sighed into phone. "Thank goodness! Thank you! As a way to express my gratitude, I'll cook tonight!"

She let out a frustrated sigh. "It _was _your turn…"

He chuckled on the phone. "See you later, Onee-chan~!""

She heard the dial tone and snapped her phone shut in frustration. '_Dammit Tatara_.'

Kumiko continued to walk to the store. When she was there, she bought what she needed to buy and walked out.

"Thank you very much!" She said to the cashier.

She checked her watch. 8:12. '_It's already so late_,' she thought to herself. On her way home, three guys ran into her. She looked at them.

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"_One of them wore a gray hoodie and had black hair. The second one wore a white tank top with black cargo shorts and had a shaved head. The last one had a Mohawk and face piercings."_

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'_Tatara's description from the time at the hospital of who beat him up seemed to match these guys SPOT ON_,' Kumiko thought to herself.

"Sorry," one of them said. "Hey, you're pretty cute."

He reached to grab strands of her hair, but she swatted his hand away and punched him in the cheek, making him fall to the ground.

"OI? WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" The other two guys yelled.

"That was for my brother. The one you guys beat up a month ago?"

The trio soon realized who she was talking about. "Ah right. That crybaby. He suuure screamed a lot."

She knew that wasn't like Tatara. Even if he was getting beat up, he wouldn't cry like a baby. This angered Kumiko and she aimed to kick him this time. Problem was, the guy grabbed her ankle and motioned for the other two to restrain her. "I wonder what YOUR screams sound like."

They dragged her into an alleyway and pinned her to the cold ground.

"Stop it! Leave me alone!"

They just laughed and beat her. Once she was weak enough that she couldn't scream anymore, one of them hovered over her. His hands roamed about and eventually, he began to tear her uniform off of her. Her sweater, skirt, shirt...everything. She whimpered in fear and still tried to squirm around. She heard his belt buckle coming undone and she shut her eyes and turned her head. Kumiko cried and shouted for help when his skin made contact with hers. She cried when he began to lower his lips to her neck. He began trailing kisses down her neck and she clenched her fists. The guy soon began to bite and as he trailed down to her collarbone, he bit so hard that he began to draw her blood. Kumiko felt his mouth travel down to her chest and she bit her lip so hard that the fresh taste of blood was present in her mouth.

His work was cut shorter than he liked, however, when a small pebble hit him in the face. "AH! WHO THE HELL THREW THAT?" Everyone turned their head to the entrance of the alleyway and saw a young man with a black sweater and plaid pants, tossing a rock up in the air.

"You bastard! Get 'im," yelled the one harassing Kumiko.

"What about the girl?"

"She's gonna stay right there when we're done with this punk."

They all rushed to the boy, fists ready to beat him up. However, the boy simply stayed there and put both of his fists up. Two of the attackers ran into his fists, and the boy threw them against the brick wall with no problem. He stared at the remaining attacker who pleaded for mercy as he started to run. Before he could completely make it out of the alleyway, the boy still faced Kumiko as he grabbed the back of the attacker's shirt. He stared at the scared man and _smashed_ him into the brick wall as well.

The boy had walked over to the shivering and balled up Kumiko on the ground.

"M-Mikoto?" She cried.

Mikoto knelt down by her, completely unfazed at her unclothed state. He took his sweater off and covered her. Next, he placed one hand under her back and one hand under her knees and lifted her up.

"Miko…to," she whimpered and clutched onto his shirt. "Mikoto…"

He stared down at her shaking form before walking out of the alleyway. The whole walk home, she was sobbing and apologizing to Tatara about not having the groceries. She really did amaze him. She was raped in an alleyway on a freezing night, and all she could think about was not having their groceries.

Mikoto arrived at the door of her house and knocked with his foot. Tatara answered the door and gasped in shock.

"ONEE-CHAN?! WHAT HAPPENED?"

"You shouldn't talk to her now," Mikoto spoke up. When she heard his deep voice rumble in his chest, a sense of calmness washed over her.

"King? What happened to her?"

He walked in and placed her down on the couch. When he did so, he walked out and waved goodbye. Tatara sighed and knelt by Kumiko.

"Why was King carrying you like that?"

She continued to cry and snuggled in Mikoto's sweater more. "I…I ran into the ones who beat you."

"Oh…they even hurt you, too?"

She nodded. "Mikoto found me and beat them up. He wrapped me in his sweater and carried me here."

Tatara hurried to place a blanket over her and he began to tear up a little bit. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry, Kumiko, for being reckless…"

She smiled and hugged him. Soon, she found herself crying again and she gripped Tatara's shirt. "I'm sorry, too."

"For what?"

"The groceries…I don't have them."

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Kumiko had fallen asleep that night on the couch while Tatara was taking care of her. She managed to shower and change into her pajamas. However, she put Mikoto's sweater back on and wrapped herself in multiple blankets. Kumiko had told her brother that she was going to stay home from school that day. Instantly, he said that he was going to stay home as well, but she stopped him from doing so and told him that she would be fine. So, he left hesitantly to school.

'_Mikoto, I'm sorry. You might be alone today_.' Kumiko thought to herself as she was getting ready to go to the hospital.

The whole way there, she just kept rubbing her stomach, hoping that the freak from last night didn't…she shook her head and didn't allow herself to finish that thought. Upon arriving, she told her doctor to take blood tests and determine if she really was...pregnant or not. The time there made her want to cry as she anticipated the results. A part of her wished Mikoto was there with her. She felt scared to be by herself.

The doctor came out to the waiting area. "You're not pregnant."

Kumiko happily sighed. "That's…that's a relief."

"Is everything alright?" The doctor asked.

She bit her lip and said, "yup" and walked out before the doctor could ask any more questions.

She walked home in fear. Every time she heard guys laughing, she whipped her head around and found out that it was just normal people not trying to talk to her. Every now and then, she would still look all around her, hoping that no one was following her. When she made it home, she quickly ran inside and locked the doors and even the windows.

Soon, Kumiko found herself wrapped up in the blankets wearing Mikoto's sweater again. She liked his sweater. It felt like he was there, comforting her…holding her. She shook her head and buried her face in the blankets. '_Stop that, Kumiko! Stop thinking like that!_' Eventually, she had fallen asleep again, flustered.

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_Knock Knock Knock _

Kumiko slowly opened her eyes and saw that the clock said, 2:35. She wondered who on earth would be here at 2:35. Being the paranoid person she was, she hesitantly walked up to one of the windows and peaked outside to see who it was.

She stared wide-eyed and opened the door. "Mikoto? What are you doing here? Why aren't you in school?"

He ignored the question and let himself inside and plopped down on the couch.

She sat by him. "Why are you here?"

"How are you doing?"

"I-I'm still a bit sore. But I…I don't know if I'm going to school tomorrow either."

"Hm…"

"Um…Tatara's not here…right now."

He ignored that.

"Thank you," she blurted out. "Uhh…I didn't thank you last night. So…thank you for saving me. Do you want a bento?"

His ears perked and he opened his eyes. She took that as a yes and got up to make it. Having Mikoto actually inside her house made her blush. She had to mentally slap herself and tell herself to pull it together, otherwise she's going to make a fool of herself. She finished making lunch and gave it to Mikoto. He had lazily thanked her and inhaled the food. In the middle of eating, he noticed that she still wore his sweater. She followed his gaze and realized it as well.

"Oh! Sorry! I'll wash it and give it back to you."

"Don't bother."

She stared at him and blushed. He noticed she was acting strange today. Maybe being attacked or having him visit her at an unexpected time, he had no idea.

"Are you doing okay?" He asked.

"Ehe…of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Hrmm…?"

"Do-don't look at me like that!"

Mikoto continued to stare at her to see if he could find anything wrong with her. He took note of the multiple blankets she was wrapped in as well as the clothes she was wearing. She basically covered herself from head to toe in clothes.

He just shrugged it off and put the empty bento on the coffee table.

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Mikoto had lost track of time and ended up staying for a couple of hours. The phone rang and Kumiko went to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Onee-chan! I'm going to be a little bit late. I'm getting the groceries now."

Kumiko bit her lip. '_If I was more careful last night, Tatara wouldn't have to go through the trouble_.' "Okay. I'll cook tonight since you did it last night. So please be careful and DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS."

He chuckled over the phone. "Okay. And it was your turn tonight anyways~!"

"Just hurry up…"

She hung up and muttered, "you reckless child…"

Mikoto stared blankly at her and rest his head back on the couch.

"Were you alone today?"

He ignored the question. He didn't even move.

"I'm sorry, Mikoto."

He looked at her. "Hm."

"So…how was school? For the time you were there…"

"It was…school. Oh, that girl…Takahashi was worried."

Kumiko sighed. "No she's not. She's just being…annoying."

Kumiko heard Mikoto chuckle. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because…she is annoying."

"What did she do to you?"

"Well today, she kept bugging me about why you were absent."

"Did you te—"

"No. Why would I tell _her _anything?"

Kumiko smiled. "Thank you. Actually, can you not tell anyone…they'd probably twist your words and make it seem like…like I wasn't forced."

"Our class is something…And who would I tell anyways?"

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**8:11 P.M.**

Tatara burst through the door, panting. "I…I'm home—King?"

"Mm?" Mikoto lazily responded.

"What are you doing here?"

Mikoto didn't respond and took the groceries out of Tatara's hands to the kitchen. Kumiko was about to prepare the food for that night, when Tatara placed a hand on her shoulder. "I've got it for tonight, just rest and keep King company."

Kumiko smiled and went to sit down by Mikoto again.

"Do you and Totsuka live alone?" Mikoto asked.

"Mhm. Our parents…kinda gave up and left. So we watch out for each other. And it's not easy when you have TATARA for a brother."

"What was that?" Tatara asked from the kitchen.

Kumiko laughed. "Nothing."

Mikoto just huffed as usual. "How long have you guys been like this?"

"A couple of years. I think I might have been…five and Tatara was three. We decided to just care for each other and not have to bother other relatives. I guess you could say that we're doing just fine."

"Dinner's ready!"

They all sat down and said their thanks.

"King! All last night, Onee-chan snuggled with yo—"

Kumiko took a piece of bread and stuck it in his mouth. "Don't listen to him."

Mikoto blinked and continued to eat.

Tatara took out the bread and said. "And I have never seen her go to bed so flus—"

She covered his mouth this time and gave him a deadly glare. "Be quiet."

The rest of dinner, Tatara stayed quiet. Well, about Kumiko and Mikoto that is. He still talked about how awesome Mikoto was or how his day at school went. When they were finished, Tatara told Kumiko to show Mikoto out while he finished cleaning up. Kumiko knew that he was just trying to play "match maker." But she smiled and happily showed her friend out.

"Thank you again, Mikoto. You're…you're welcome to come by anytime…"

He stared at her and vice versa. The two found each other subconsciously getting closer and closer. However, Kumiko held her breath and held her hand out in front of him.

"See you later," she said.

Mikoto shook her hand and that's all she thought it was. But he pulled her towards him, bent down to place his lips on her cheek, and gave her a kiss. "See you tomorrow."

He walked off, leaving a red Kumiko at the door.

"What are you doing!?" Tatara yelled.

"B-Be right there!" Kumiko said and rushed into the kitchen to help Tatara clean up.

"Onee-chan, your face is really red. What did you do with Ki—"

"NOTHING! SHUT UP, TATARA!" She said and ran upstairs.

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**Finished with this chapter! Was it okay? Is it too fast-paced? I hope you enjoyed it, though! I purposefully didn't go _too _much in detail with the whole…rape scene…just because it is T and I feel awkward writing it… :|**

**But I still loved writing this chapter. :)**  
**See you in the next one! Thank you for all of the follows/favorites/reviews/views!**


	4. Thank You

**Hello again! Here is the chapter for Don't Leave! :D  
I attempted to edit this to the best of my abilities and _attempted _to go more in detail with settings n whatnot. But yeah. :)  
Enjoy!**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxx**

"Ne! Suoh-kun!"

One of Mikoto's eyebrows twitched in annoyance as he heard Noemi approaching his desk. He opened his eyes and saw her bright, green orbs staring into his amber ones.

"What is it?" He lazily asked.

"Is Kumiko-chan really sick?"

Mikoto mentally sighed and thought of something to say. "I don't know," was all he came up with.

"Eh? But you two are close aren't you?"

"By 'close', you mean 'dating'...right?"

She chuckled. "No, no! It's just you guys always hang around each other, so I thought you knew why she hasn't been coming to school."

"Hn." Mikoto rested his head on his hand and looked out the window at nothing in particular. In other words, he hoped Noemi would get the hint and let him be. Fortunately, she did leave after she muttered out a, "how boring."

"Takahashi," Mikoto said.

"Yeah?" Her voice sounded cheerful and she waltzed back to his desk.

"You knew Kumiko in middle school?"

"Oh yeah! She's changed a lot since then. She had a really small group of friends that all went to different high schools. So I wanted to become one of her first friends in high school! A lot of people who wouldn't talk to her wanted to be her friend!"

In his head, Mikoto scoffed at how most of his classmates acted. Obviously interested in nothing but looks. He did have to admit, Kumiko did have many attractive features, but that wasn't the only thing that drew him to her. She was friendly towards him and was the only person he could talk so casually to, besides Izumo. Whenever she was around him, she gave off a weird vibe. But the good kind of weird. The kind of weird that...that seemed to keep him on his toes. Mikoto wasn't too sure how he felt about Kumiko. Yes he did kiss her on the cheek, but half of him didn't know what he was doing. He saw her inching closer to him, and he somehow started to as well. But she stopped and just offered a handshake. So he just pulled her to him without thinking clearly and kissed her cheek. He took what he could get.

"What did she look like in middle school?"

Noemi gave him a weird expression, but continued anyways. "Well, she was somewhat...chubby. She had shorter hair...um...she wore glasses...yeah. That's all I can really remember. I usually saw her passing by. But now she's pretty much the exact opposite! She's so much skinnier, she doesn't wear glasses, and her hair looks so long and pretty!"

"Now you're really close to her, huh?"

"Oh definitely!"

Mikoto mentally scoffed again. "So...close friends usually hang out and tell each other embarrassing things. Has she done any of those?"

Noemi glared at him and gave him a smile that said, "you did not just say that." Noemi knew she would regret starting a conversation with the "class introvert." But, she had to remain calm, no matter how much she despised him and wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp.

Their teacher, Mr. Sato, had walked in and said, "good morning, class! Please settle down and we will begin shortly!"

Before she took her seat, Noemi spared Mikoto one last glare while he looked out the window again.

"Okay class! Let me take roll..."

Mikoto spaced out and just stared out the window at the courtyard, shrouded in pure, white snow. His gaze wandered to the once large, green tree where he usually eats with Kumiko. That reminded him. He was planning on visiting Kumiko to see how she was holding up. He sighed.

"Totsuka, Kumiko?"

No response

"Is Totsuka-san absent again?"

The class remained silent while Mr. Sato muttered out, "I hope she's doing fine." While the teacher was marking Kumiko absent, he asked, "does anyone have any idea where she might be?"

Mikoto just stared at the front of the classroom, hoping class would just move on already.

"Suoh-kun might know," a familiar voice spoke up.

"Is that so, Takahashi-san?"

Mikoto just slightly turned his head to the side to see Noemi playing innocent with that fake smile of hers and that "uncertainty" in her voice. Mikoto turned his head back to the front of the room and saw his teacher looking at him behind his black-rimmed glasses.

"Do you have any idea where she may be?"

"No."

The teacher may not have heard it, but Mikoto had heard Noemi scoff to herself.

"Alright class, we will continue our discussion..."

Mikoto directed his attention outside again, thinking about when to leave. He then focused his gaze on Kumiko's desk next to him. He looked in the corner of it and saw her lame stick figures and stars she drew when she would get bored during class as well as the faded drawings and messages she tried erasing. He could make out some of the words she secretly wrote to him. "Baka", "I'm bored", and "Hey...King :)." She once got in trouble with sensei for doing that. But luckily, no messages were written at the time.

"Suoh-san," Mr. Sato said. "Please pay attention."

Mikoto switched his gaze to the front of the classroom and tried to pay attention to the words Mr. Sato wrote on the chalkboard. However, the clock above Mr. Sato was competing with him for Mikoto's attention. He decided that at lunch, he would visit Kumiko.

"Alright class! Enjoy your lunches."

Mikoto shot up from his seat and walked thought the long hallways of the school.

"Suoh-kun," Noemi said, stopping Mikoto in his tracks.

"Hn?" He turned around.

"You shot up out of your seat pretty fast. Don't tell me you're going to skip school to go—"

"Why is it your problem?" He lazily sighed.

She shrugged her shoulders and said, "tell her I said 'hi'."

Noemi walked back into the classroom. Mikoto swore he saw a small smirk form on her lips, but he scoffed and continued to walk down the hallway. He soon stepped outside and realized it was more freezing than he thought. But it didn't really affect him. The sound of snow crunching under his feet could be heard as he started towards Kumiko's house. Everywhere he looked was covered by snow. The cars to the right of him on the street drove by as slow as they could to avoid crashing. He walked through Kumiko's neighborhood and saw some people trying to shovel out the pathways. Others were playing with their kids in the snow, making lopsided snowmen and decorating them with clothes. Some were having snowball fights and one nearly hit Mikoto. The person who threw it apologized, but Mikoto just shrugged it off. He stopped in front of Kumiko's house and just stood in front of the door, wondering if he should actually have come. Well, he skipped school and came all this way, so he was going to knock.

He raised his fist and knocked on the dark, wooden door.

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_Kumiko ran and ran for her life away from those three freaks. She tried so hard to get as far as she could away from them, but the thick blanket of snow hindered her in her running. She ran to a park where children were playing with their parents and hid in the bushes outlining the park. If she hid here, the kids and parents thought she just might be playing hide and seek. When the trio of men came for her, she could be safer to some extent, considering the fact that she was in a park with many witnesses._

_From her hiding spot in the bushes, she finally heard their heavy breathing from running loud and clear. She tried to breath as soft as she could since they were practically in front of her._

_"Where'd she go?" One of them asked._

_"I don't know, idiot! Don't just stand there and ask! Freakin' look!"_

_Kumiko could see through the leaves that they pretended to act normal to not raise suspicions. She wanted to sneak away while they were across the park, but she thought that she'd have a better chance if they just gave up and left._

_"Dammit. She's not here! C'mon let's move on!"_

_Without thinking, Kumiko released the breath she was holding in and she immediately clamped her hand over her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut._

_They stopped where they were going. "Hey, wait. We didn't check everywhere yet..."_

'Crap,'_ Kumiko thought to herself._

_"Search around the bushes, in the bushes...Whatever!"_

_Kumiko inched backwards to escape, but when she was doing so, she ran into something and slowly turned her head around to find dark, denim jeans in front of her._

_"Finally found you," one of the guys smirked and picked her up by her hair. "Guys! Jackpot!"_

_Kumiko opened her eyes and she scanned the park. The park no longer had children with their parents there. It looked like they weren't even there to begin with. When the kids were here, snow was tossed around and cleaned off of the playground equipment. Now, it was piled up on the swings, slide, carousel, and benches. In fact, everywhere she looked, no one seemed to be in sight. She averted her eyes towards the two other dangerous men making their way to her._

_"Throw her down," the leader (she assumed) ordered with a smirk._

_They both chuckled and the one holding her brown locks violently threw her down and pinned one of her arms and one of her legs while another guy pinned the other side._

_She called for the help that would never come and scratched at the cold ground beneath her._

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_Knock Knock Knock_

Kumiko shot up from her sleep, panting and tearing. Another round of knocks came and she quickly wiped at her eyes and went downstairs to answer the door. She checked to see who it was and she was not at all surprised.

She opened the door to find Mikoto staring inside with an emotionless face.

"Skipping school again? Shame, shame, Mikoto Suoh."

He removed his shoes and walked inside. "Says you," he replied.

She closed the door and held up a scolding finger. "Excuse me...excuse me...shut up."

The corner of Mikoto's lips curved up into a minuscule smirk and he sat down on the couch, Kumiko following him soon after.

"So...why do you look so stressed out?" Kumiko asked.

"Takahashi pisses me off."

She laughed, causing Mikoto to crack open an eye to look at her. "Aahhh my best friend from middle school. What did she do?"

"Bothered me some more about you. And I'm pretty sure she's gonna rat me out for coming over here. But I think I set her off..."

"What did you do?"

"She said she was a close friend of yours, so I asked her what kind of 'close friends' things did you guys do. Y'know, did you guys have sleepovers and tell each other secrets. She seemed to get pissed off and treat me like shit after that."

She gave him a light punch on the shoulder and laughed. "You cool kid, you."

He smirked.

She got up and jogged to the kitchen and rummaged around in the refrigerator. She moved around the little bits of food and groceries they had and found what she was looking for.

"Aha!" she shouted, making Mikoto turn his head. Next, the sound of the microwave began to make noise. Mikoto smirked, knowing all too well what she was making. She soon appeared around the corner with two brown bento boxes in hand.

"Hereee!" She cheerfully said and placed the food on the glass coffee table in front of Mikoto.

"Why do you always do this?"

"Well, I like to cook things sometimes. And it occupies me."

He didn't want to question her further and decided to enjoy her cooking. He opened the box and just stared at the decorated food.

"Hn? A...panda?"

Kumiko smiled then laughed. "Maybe..."

Mikoto smirked in amusement and observed the bento again. The panda looked like it was lying down while snuggling an assortment of vegetables. The panda's whole body was made out of white rice. However, his ears, arms, and the leg draped over the vegetables were wrapped in nori. Kumiko had also cut small pieces of nori in the shape of a panda's eyes and a small triangle for the nose. The panda looked like it was lying down on a bed of spring onion sprouts made to look like grass. Finally, to top it off, there was the plastic bento grass lined up behind its back. Mikoto looked at Kumiko's bento and saw that it was the same as his.

'She_ took time to make this_ twice?'Mikoto thought to himself.

"Are you going to eat?" Kumiko asked with a stuffed mouth.

"Yeah," he replied, followed by his thanks.

He ate it with pure happiness as well as Kumiko. But the long silence was getting awkward. So Kumiko wanted to break it. Possibly by talking about the kiss from last night. She squeezed her eyes shut and crinkled her nose and decided not to say anything yet. She opened her mouth to say something, but Mikoto had beat her to it and said, "you told me you don't live with your other family. But...how are you paying to live here?"

"We may not live with our other family, but our aunty comes to visit us and give us money once in a while. Either that, or she wants to just visit us sometimes. She said she feels guilty for not helping out and becoming our guardian. But I tell her many, _many _times that we'd rather live by ourselves. I think part of me doesn't want a guardian because I'm worried he or she may leave Tatara and I alone again. And I don't want that happening again to Tatara, especially. Just because he's still so...mentally young."

Mikoto stared at her as he chewed his food. After he swallowed it, he said, "you coming to school tomorrow?"

"Mmm...I'll force myself to."

"You still scared?"

She didn't answer and stared at her panda bento that had missing ears now. "Just...a bit."

"So what happened that day?"

She clutched her blanket and said, "They stumbled into me and I recognized them as the ones who beat Tatara up last month and I punched one of them. They caught my second attempt to hit one of the guys and well...you know what comes after."

"You attacked first?"

"Yeah."

"Did you think you'd beat them by yourself?"

Kumiko froze and thought it over. '_Really...what was I doing?_'

"Well...I wasn't thinking clearly. All that was on my mind was, 'put these douche bags through the same pain they put Tatara through.' I was just...angry and the first thing that came to mind was hitting them."

"You're just as reckless as he is," Mikoto said and placed his box on the table. He leaned back and waited for her snappy reply.

Instead, she chuckled nervously and said, "I am aren't I? And I always scold him about being reckless."

"Hn."

She turned to completely face him and she said, "y'know...you know where I live and you know some stuff about me. So show me where you live!"

Mikoto shot up after a while of just staying still, grabbed Kumiko by the wrist, and walked to the door.

"Hey! What are you doing?" She yelled.

He stopped in front of the door and grabbed the bento out of her hands to place it on the coffee table. "You want to know where I live, right?"

She slowly nodded and he rushed out the door into the snowy street that still had neighbors playing in it. He kept running and running without stopping. She's surprised she could keep up right now. She saw that they had ended up in the actual city portion of Shizume City. She rarely comes down here, but when she does, she always enjoys it. She stared in awe at the bright monitors displaying advertisements of sodas, tv shows, and so much more. She looked to the sides of her and saw so many stores. Some of the merchandise extended out to the sidewalk with the employees attracting the attention of some people. She looked some more and even saw street performers. She wanted to stop and watch, but Mikoto just kept on running. She felt like a caveman discovering fire when she was in this city. She was always so amazed at the technology it contained. Kumiko looked ahead and saw that they still had three seconds to cross the street, according to the red hand on the monitor. But, that didn't stop Mikoto. In fact, he even increased his running to sprinting.

"Mikoto! You're crazy!"

They had one second left before the streetlight would turn green and they just made it onto the crosswalk. Mikoto sped up, almost dragging Kumiko behind him. Some cars even beeped their horns. When they crossed, Kumiko placed her free hand on her knee and panted hard.

"Hold o...Hold on...I have to...I have to BREATHE!"

Mikoto tapped his foot as he waited for her to calm down. When she finally situated herself and her breathing had somewhat slowed, she nodded her head, said "thanks for waiting, crazy", and started to take a step forward, waiting for Mikoto to lead the way. He took her wrist again and started to run, much to Kumiko's disappointment. But she soon found out that all they needed to do was run about ten more feet and turn a corner into a less packed part of the city. Mikoto stopped and looked at the building in front of him. Kumiko looked at it as well.

'Does_ he live here? At a...bar?_' Kumiko looked at the building made out of red bricks that had a large sign above it. It read, "HOMRA." There was also a light post on the sidewalk by the side of the building that also said HOMRA. The building had many windows, and she tried to guess which one was Mikoto's room.

"HO...MRA? You live at a bar?"

She heard no response, only the sound of bells chiming from the front door opening. He turned around when he didn't sense her behind him and he said, "if you stay out here, you'll get attacked again."

She made a small squeal and ran up to him and held his arm. Mikoto looked down at her with one eyebrow arched. It finally occurred to Kumiko what she was doing and she blushed and let go.

While she stayed at the door and observed her surroundings, Mikoto made his way to sit at the bar. Behind the bar, there was an array of beer and wine placed on shelves. To her left, there were two large windows with purple drapes pushed to the side. Up against the windows, there was a purple couch that had a glass coffee table with a menu on it in front of it. To the right of her, there were a couple of glass tables set up for customers to sit down at.

"Ah-hey you're that kid's sister," the blonde friend of Mikoto from the hospital said.

Kumiko stopped looking around the bar and now faced him. "Hey, you're that flirt from the hospital." Kumiko made her way across the bar to sit down on one of the red bar chairs next to Mikoto.

"Izumo Kusanagi at your service. Would you like anything to drink?" He asked.

"Mm...anything's fine."

"Oui, Mademoiselle," he placed a hand to his chest and bowed.

"Impressive French," she teased.

He smirked and just poured her some tea he had, and put it in front of her. "So what brings you here? You stalking Mikoto, too?"

She choked on her tea and went into a coughing fit. "N-no! More like Mikoto stalks me..."

"Uh?" Izumo said and looked at Mikoto who just closed his eyes and drank his tea. "What do you mean, Kumiko-san?"

"Oh well-" she paused. "Hey...how do you know my name?"

Izumo just looked at Mikoto who was giving him a death glare. The blonde smiled and sighed. "When your brother sees us, he starts talking to us and you come up in our conversations," he lied.

"Hmm..." she said and drank tea.

"So how is he doing when he's not around us?"

"He's doing fine. Still talks about how he wants to become the 'king's vassal.'"

"Is that so?" Izumo said. "Has he gotten in anymore trouble?"

"No. Not really."

"Oh, Mikoto," Izumo said.

"Hn?"

"Why are you here during school hours?"

"I skipped," he plainly answered and took another sip of his drink.

"Eh?"

"It's not the first time."

"Why did you skip? You too, Kumiko-san!"

Kumiko bit her lip. Before she could say anything, Mikoto said, "I go to Kumiko's house."

"Ah?" Izumo looked at him with a confused face before it was replaced with a grin. "Ehhh, Kumiko-san! Mikoto, why do you go to her house, hmmm?"

Kumiko blushed furiously and she shook her head. "No! It's not—Mikoto! Don't make it sound so wrong! And just Kumiko-chan or something is fine, Kusanagi-san...BUT IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!"

Izumo chuckled and Mikoto just drank his drink. "So that's what you mean by how he stalks you, huh? And please, call me whatever you like."

"Topic change! Whose bar is this...Kusanagi?"

He laughed. "It's all mine!"

"Eh? Really?"

"Well...sorta. My uncle mainly owns this. It'll be mine one day."

"Hmm..." Kumiko said and looked around.

"So how long do you think your brother will follow Mikoto around?"

She focused her gaze back on Izumo and said, "probably forever. When Tatara commits to something, he commits. He's very loyal."

"Tch..." Mikoto scoffed.

Kumiko looked at him. "Don't you love the thought of someone who admires you?"

"Don't you love the thought of many others who admire you?"

Kumiko thought about what he was saying and was confused at first. When it finally occurred to her what he meant, she furrowed her brows. "They don't really admire me. Tatara's different than those plastics in our class. He...he genuinely cares for those around him. Remember when you beat those guys—"

"What are you getting at?" Mikoto interrupted.

"Just hold on. Remember when you beat the guys in the alleyway? Tatara said he saw you do something like that. He came running home one day and said, 'Onee-chan! I saw the most awesome thing! There was this guy who used super awesome strength! I'm gonna be like...like his follower! Like how a king has followers!' People are scared of you right? That's why you used to hang around nobody?"

"Hn," Mikoto said and closed his eyes.

"Well, Tatara wasn't scared. From the beginning, ever since he saw you use that so-called 'scary strength', he wanted to be your friend. So I'm pretty sure he truly cares."

There was a moment of silence before Kumiko's phone started to ring. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Tatara.

"Oh sorry, I have to take this!" Kumiko said and walked across the bar.

"Hello?" Kumiko answered.

"Onee-chan! You're okay! Where are you?! I came home—"

"Tatara—"

"—and I saw a partially eaten bento left on the table so I thought—"

"Tatara—"

"—YOU GOT KIDNAPPED OR SOMETHING-"

"TATARA!"

He went quiet and then said, "yeah?"

"I'm fine. I'm with...Mikoto...right now. But why are you home? Don't you have school?"

"The school is having a fair and we got let out early."

"Oh...well I'm okay now, don't worry."

"Ne...Onee-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"You and King, huh?"

"And Izumo Kusanagi," she hissed into the phone. "His friend from the time in the hospital."

"Okaaaay, Onee-chan. Bye bye~!"

Tatara hung up and she sighed. Kumiko walked back over to her place by the bar and put her head down.

"Everything okay?" Izumo asked before Mikoto could.

"Tatara's such a...such a little brother."

Both the males chuckled.

"What did he say?" Izumo asked.

"Crazy nonsense. I'm gonna get going now. Thank you Kusanagi for the drink and thank you Mikoto—"

Mikoto cut her off by standing up and walking to the door. "Thanks, Izumo."

She stayed at the bar, staring at Mikoto. He opened the door and stood there. "You said you were going home weren't you?"

"Y-yeah but—"

"Then c'mon." Mikoto walked outside to the front of the bar.

"He's concerned," Izumo said as he cleaned the dishes.

"About me?"

"Ehh he could be," Izumo motioned for her to lean towards him. "I lied about when I said your brother tells me about you. It's Mikoto that tells me about you."

Kumiko's face temperature sky rocketed. "Wh-what does he say?"

He placed a finger to his cheek and said, "he kissed you."

"Ah—"

"Oi...are you going home?" Mikoto asked as he opened the door.

"Yeah. Sorry, Mikoto. I'll be right there."

He sighed and walked out again.

"He does talk quite a bit about you."

Her face wasn't going to get any cooler at this point. "What does he say?"

"I've said too much," he said and put his hands up in mock surrender. "Maybe you can confront him yourself?"

She furrowed her brows. "Okay. Thank you, Kusanagi."

"Izumo."

"Izumo...kun."

He smiled and sighed. "See you later, Kumiko-chan."

She waved goodbye and hurried outside to Mikoto who was leaning against the light post, staring up at the gentle snowflakes falling from the sky.

"Shall we go?" Kumiko asked.

"Hn," he said and pushed himself off of the light post. "Oi? Why is your face red?"

"Eh—it...it's just cold."

Mikoto stared at her then began walking back to her house. They reached a park with a long, winding stone path. On the sides of the path were benches and light posts. Few people were here. So when she heard men laughing and chatting loudly behind her, she whipped her head around and gasped. Just like the last time, she saw that it was just people not wanting anything from her. She took a deep breath in and let it out. She was almost home. Plus, she had Mikoto next to her right now. Why was she being paranoid?

The bushes behind the benches rustled and she whimpered and put her hands over her ears. What came out of the bushes was a squirrel making its way to climb up a tree. She closed her eyes and stayed where she was, too scared to move. Not too long after, she felt someone grip one of her wrists and she shot her tear-filled eyes open and saw Mikoto staring into her brown eyes.

"Aha...sorry," she tried to smile, but it soon faded back into a frown. "Sorry...sorry..."

Mikoto slowly started to step backwards to the direction of her house as he continued to hold her wrist and look at her. The steps were slow and shaky. She felt calm. Looking into Mikoto's eyes made her feel at ease and she was taking slow breaths. She lowered her hand that Mikoto wasn't holding, soon followed by the other hand in his grasp. Footsteps came at a quick pace from behind her and she shot her hands up back to her ears again. Before she could do so, Mikoto caught both of her wrists and looked at the jogger passing them. Kumiko kept her eyes on the jogger who was quite a distance away from them already. She then looked back at Mikoto who was staring at her again. She started to slowly lower her wrists again and she actually was able to keep them at her side. She started to walk and Mikoto let her go so he could continue walking alongside her as well. But she didn't feel right. So Kumiko held onto Mikoto's arm for the rest of the quiet walk home.

The families and couples who were once playing out in the snow of Kumiko's neighborhood were now inside of their houses, leaving the street to be strangely quiet. They walked up to her house and just stood at the front door.

"You're home," he reminded her.

She wasn't paying attention to what he said. She was actually thinking about what Izumo had told her earlier.

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_"I've said to much. Maybe you can confront him yourself?"_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Okay, Izumo-kun...I'll confront him_, she thought to herself.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Mikoto said and started to walk off.

"Wait!" Kumiko said and grabbed his wrist. "Th-thank you. For today."

"Welcome."

"Also..." she pulled him down so her lips could land on his cheek. "Also...thank you."

"You said that already."

"Well...ahem...th-thank you...I mean...see you to-tomorrow," she nodded her head and walked inside the house.

"T-Tatara! I'm home!"

The said boy came down the stairs and said, "welcome home, Onee-chan! How did things go with King?"

"_Izumo-kun_, Mikoto, and I had a great time."

"Hrrmmm," Tatara grumbled. "How is it that you spend so much time with King? I want to be his vassal one day! I want to be a follower of the king!"

She laughed. "Maybe one day you will."

"You think?"

She smiled and nodded. "Positive."

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**Chapter 4…DONE! I got my inspiration for the bento by a picture from "Niniel1" on flickr. :) The panda in the original picture was snuggling with a heart. But I took that out and replaced it with the vegetables.**

**So yeah.**

**Why did Noemi smirk? What is she planning?! I'll see you in the next chapter with her plan!**

**Thank you for reviewing/viewing/following/favoring! Tis much appreciated. :)**


	5. Last Time

**Hiya!  
Here is the next chapter for le story. I hope you enjoy it!**

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Instead of waking up panting and in tears, Kumiko woke up with a smile on her face and waltzed downstairs to find Tatara already getting ready.

"Oh? Why are you getting ready so early for?" Kumiko asked.

"I'm gonna help put away the remaining items from the fair last night. So I'm off to school now! Bye, Onee-chan!"

She laughed and bid him goodbye.

Kumiko walked into the kitchen and found eggs, toast, and bacon already left for her on the counter. She could still see the steam coming off of it. The smell of cheddar cheese melted on the eggs reached her nose and instantly, she went in a trance. If that smell wasn't enough, the scent of the bacon hit her and she thought she was going to die of pure bliss. She took a bite of the juicy bacon and placed her head on her hand on the counter. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. She finished eating the breakfast and she cleaned her dish and put it away.

"Next, shower," Kumiko said to herself. She went to her room and grabbed her uniform before heading off to the bathroom. After removing her clothing, she stared at herself in the mirror and noticed her bruises and cuts from that eventful night were somewhat healing. She hopped in the shower and quickly cleaned herself up. After a couple of minutes, she stepped out and brushed her teeth as well as her hair. She checked her appearance one last time before grabbing her bag and heading out the door.

After she locked the door, she turned around only to freeze where she was. Mikoto was leaning against her fence, one foot crossed over the other with his hands in his pockets. When he heard her lock the door, he turned his attention to her.

"Mikoto," she laughed out. "What in the world—"

"Let's go," he said.

She nodded and jogged up to him and they walked to school together. She didn't want to say anything. Kumiko felt that if she said something right now, it might come out as whatever was on her mind. And right now, her mind was just buzzing with the red-haired boy next to her. She was gonna suck it up, though, and talk to him to break the silence!

"Ne, Mikoto."

"Hn?"

She smiled and faced him. "I'm not scared. I'm not scared anymore!"

He gave a small smile. "Good."

"Next time those guys wanna mess with me, I'll make them pay!" She grinned and hit her fist against her other hand.

"You're more reckless than Totsuka."

"I am...I have to stop that..."

They were silent for a while before Kumiko spoke up again. "Thank you, Mikoto. For helping me last night. I probably wouldn't have made it home by myself," she laughed nervously.

"You said that so many times already."

"No matter how many times I say it, it wouldn't be good enough!"

He sighed, causing her to smile.

"I'm not looking forward to going back to school..."

"Hn. Takahashi told me what you were like in middle school."

"D-did she now? What did she say?"

"Just described how you look."

"What did she say?!"

"Hnn...said you had glasses, shorter hair, and you were a bit heavier," he said straightforward.

She blushed. "So annoying... When I get back, I'm gonna tell her a thing or two."

He sighed.

"Why are you sighing like that?"

"Do you even realize how reckless you've been sounding these past days?"

"Hey, I'm trying."

Thunder could be heard somewhere in the distance and the rain started to pour.

"Gah," Kumiko said as she fumbled to open her umbrella. Mikoto grabbed her wrist and he started running through the park from last night in the slush.

"Mikoto! What are you doing?!"

"It's more fun like this."

"But we're going to get to school all drenched in rain!"

"So?"

"And we might—AH!" Kumiko yelled as she slipped and fell on top of Mikoto. She opened her eyes and saw that Mikoto was lying down on the ground beneath her with wide eyes. Kumiko blushed at how close their faces were. The tip of their noses were touching each other.

"We might...we might...fall," she finished.

They stared at each other and completely ignored those passing by, giving them weird looks. Kumiko wanted to close the space between them. But right now wasn't the best time. Of course it was raining which made it romantic in a way, but they had to get to school and the people were still looking on as they passed.

Kumiko got off of Mikoto and helped him up. He decided that since they were close enough to school, he was just going to walk.

"Mikoto your back is covered in slush!"

"I'll just take my sweater off when we get to class."

She put her hand to her forehead and laughed. "And I'm the reckless one."

"And you always will be."

"Hey...shut up."

He smirked.

They arrived at school and Kumiko saw everyone looking at them and whispering something to their friends.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Mikoto shrugged his shoulders and continued walking to their class.

When they slid open the door, the class instantly stopped laughing and started smiling and whispering. Mikoto ignored it and just walked to his seat. Kumiko soon followed and tried to ignore their judging gazes. Immediately, Noemi walked up to Kumiko's desk.

"Hey, Kumiko-chan!"

"Hi."

"How have you been? Suoh-kun said you haven't been feeling too hot."

An eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Well yeah. I haven't."

"Did you have the flu or...?"

"Probably an STD..." someone said and laughed, causing the whole room to erupt into a laughing fit. Well, except Kumiko and Mikoto. Mikoto now opened his eyes and watched the class.

"What?" Kumiko nervously laughed out.

"Just ignore them," Noemi waved a dismissive hand the class's way. "They're just being losers."

Kumiko eyed the class. "Yeah..."

"Anyways, do you want to hang out after school?" Noemi excitedly said and grabbed Kumiko's hands.

Kumiko mentally sighed. _Not even at school for thirty minutes and the Noemi madness has already started..._

"Sorry. I have to catch up on the work I missed tonight. So..." she trailed off, taking Noemi's hands off of hers.

The class burst out into laughter again as one of them whisper, "shh, shh! She'll hear you!"

Kumiko looked back and a random classmate returned her gaze and winked, grossing her out. Thankfully, Noemi decided to go back to the group of weirdos, giving her a chance to talk to Mikoto.

"Mikoto, why is everyone acting weird?" It occurred to her what they could be laughing about and she gripped her skirt. "Wait...did you tell people abou-"

"No. I don't know why they're acting like that."

From behind Kumiko, some of the classmates whistled and hollered. She turned around and everyone looked away, hoping they didn't get caught looking at her and Mikoto.

"What are you guys laughing at?" she angrily asked. Mikoto focused his full attention on what was going on.

"You and Suoh-kun are obviously hooking up. That's what you guys have been doing when he leaves to go visit you right? At your house," a random classmate said.

She widened her eyes at the accusation. "N-no. We—"

They all laughed and interrupted her. "Maybe I can have a turn after, huh!?"

Mikoto slammed his hands on the desk and stormed over to the guy who said that. He grabbed his head and slammed it against the wall. The boy held his head and slid down the wall. The side of his head that made the impact started to gush out blood and some of his friends helped him out of the classroom and to the nurse's office.

"WHAT THE HELL SUOH-KUN?" Someone shouted. "That was freakin' uncalled for! You're a real bastard you know that?!"

Mikoto turned his deadly gaze towards the boy that said that and clenched his fist, ready to punch him. Kumiko stood up and said to the one who insulted Mikoto, "he's the bastard? I think you need to take a reality check and see who's actually bullying who here."

The class went quiet and someone coughed out, "slut."

The class burst out laughing.

"I bet she doesn't just sleep with Mikoto! She probably sleeps around! Hey, Kumiko-chan!" The boys all said. "We're waiting for our turn!"

Kumiko started to cry and she ran out of the classroom.

"Oh! There she goes! Her pimp is waiting!"

The class just didn't know when to stop. They all kept laughing like maniacs. Except Mikoto. Mikoto grabbed two of the guys teasing her by the shirt collar and spun them around before making their faces collide with the wall. He then saw one of the other boys teasing Kumiko try to make a run for it out of the classroom. Mikoto extended his leg out to trip him, and the boy fell face first into a desk. Everyone stopped laughing right away. They became deathly silent when they saw blood covering the faces of the three boys. It streamed down their noses and from the top of their forehead. But Mikoto wanted them to feel more pain. He then punched the three in the mouths, causing the blood to gush from there as well as their split lips.

"Mikoto Suoh!" Mr. Sato said and stepped in the room. "May I have a word with you?"

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"Can you explain to me why I saw one of your classmates with blood streaming down his face on his way to the nurse? Not to mention, when I walk in, there were three others in worse conditions than him," Mr. Sato said. They had moved out to the hallway to talk in private.

Mikoto stayed silent and just stared at the ground.

"Suoh-san. I'm not angry. I just want to know what motivated you to do such a thing."

"Just suspend me."

Mr. Sato widened his eyes at how willingly Mikoto had said that. "Alright. But are you sure you don't want to explain yourself first?"

Mikoto thought about it and finally said. "Kumiko was just being harassed and it pissed me off."

His teacher smiled, started towards the classroom, and pat Mikoto on the shoulder. "One week suspension, starting tomorrow."

Mikoto stared at Mr. Sato as he entered the classroom again. He took a step toward the room but stopped in his place, remembering Kumiko had run off. He was debating whether he should go off and find her, or get back to class. It was already bad enough that he was suspended for beating up his classmates. He didn't want to get in trouble for skipping a class. Then again, Kumiko was his friend. She was probably feeling lonely right now.

"Suoh-san," Mr. Sato opened the door and called him from the classroom. "Please come inside. And do you have an idea as to where Totsuka-san may be?"

"She ran off when the others were teasing her," Mikoto growled.

"Do you want to go find her?" He asked with a smile.

Mikoto nodded and took off to go find Kumiko. While he was running through the hallways, he stopped to think where she could be. Could she be under the tree where they eat lunch? He scratched that idea out. She could do stupid things, yes. But sitting out in the freezing weather was something she wouldn't do. At least he hoped. He just decided, "screw it" and just run around until he finds her. He made his way downstairs to begin looking on the first years' floor. When he turned to go down the stairs, he stopped to see Kumiko sitting on the staircase, her back faced to him. He took one cautious step down and she quickly peaked over her shoulder to see who it was.

"Hi, Mikoto," she said and quickly wiped at her eyes then turned back around.

He didn't say anything and just sat down next to her, arms on his knees and his eyes staring at the wall in front of them.

"Why aren't you in class?" She asked as she continued to wipe at her eyes.

"There are more important things than class," he answered plainly, not moving his gaze.

Despite the situation, she giggled and lightly shoved his arm.

"This day is already starting out to be interesting," Kumiko said. "It's novel worthy."

"Hn."

"Did Mr. Sato find out?"

"Yeah."

"Oh...what's the damage?"

"He suspended me for a week, starting tomorrow."

Kumiko widened her eyes and looked at Mikoto. "Baka Mikoto!"

He finally looked at her and realized her eyes were red and puffy.

An idea sparked in Kumiko's head. "Then I'll come visit you at HOMRA! Yeah! Since you came to visit m—"

"You shouldn't."

Kumiko froze and her heart sank a little. "And how come?"

"You still need to catch up on missed work."

She sighed and put her head on her hands. "I do have so much to catch up on..."

He smirked and stood up. Kumiko saw a hand extended out to her from the corner of her eyes. She turned her head and saw Mikoto just staring down at her with a blank face.

"We should get back to class," he said.

She nodded and wiped her eyes one last time before taking his hand and standing up.

"So how many of them did you beat up?" She asked as they were walking back.

"Four."

She smiled. "Oh geez."

"What?"

She poked his arm and said, "woooowwww. How much do you bench?"

He closed his eyes and sighed, causing Kumiko to chuckle nervously. "I'm sorry I'm so much trouble. You always have to save me from something."

He looked down at her and blinked.

They arrived outside of the classroom and just stared at the door. "Well, let's go," Kumiko said and slid the door open. Everyone focused their gaze on the two and gave them many looks, none of which were good.

"Aaanndd Totsuka-san and Suoh-san," Mr. Sato said and marked their names on the attendance sheet. "Glad to have you join us again, Totsuka-san," he said with a smile.

"Th-thank you," she shyly said and walked to her desk, Mikoto following her soon after.

"Alright, class, we're going to start off by doing science. So please take your notebooks out and take notes."

Kumiko did what Mr. Sato said and reached in the hole of her desk to take her book out. When she pulled it out, a couple of pieces of papers fell out onto her lap and onto the floor. She reached down to pick up the ones on the floor and opened them.

_"xxx-6528"_

_"Hang out after school? ;)"_

_"Disgusting..."_

_"Just leave this school already."_

_"Call me: xxx-1047"_

Kumiko frowned and crumpled up the notes. She didn't even want to bother reading the notes on her lap. So she crumpled those papers as well and stuck them back in her desk. She'd wait until lunch to get up and throw them away.

_"What are those?"_

Kumiko read the note placed on her desk and she looked at Mikoto. He was staring at the front of the board and twirling the pen in his hand.

_"People just harassing me again. No biggie. :3"_

Mikoto looked at her to see if it really was "no biggie." She did seem fine. She was just taking notes with a hard-to-read expression.

_"Assholes,"_ he wrote back.

She smiled and wrote back, _"thanks."_

_"I'm the only one who can torment you."_

Her jaw dropped and she wrote, _"...you suck."_

_"Right back at you."_

_"Stoooooop! D:"_

_"'Stoooooop'."_

She pouted and continued taking notes. But Mikoto kept putting notes on her desk, making it difficult to concentrate. She furrowed her brows and opened each of the notes.

_"I didn't say we were finished talking."_

_"Kumiko"_

_"Hey."_

She put her hand to her forehead and silently laughed.

"_Mikoto! Let me concentrate! I have to catch up on this!_" She wrote back.

He smirked and began taking notes again, much to Kumiko's relief.

Fortunately for Kumiko, she was able to concentrate for the rest of class. During science, they did more practice problems and lessons on wavelengths and how to measure and calculate them. However, the last time she was here, they ran out of time and only reached the equations for speed of light and Planck's Constant. Now they were using them in word problems: her weak point. She still had to learn which numbers to multiply together, which ones to divide, and so on. They then moved on to history. Luckily, she wrote up her final essay while at home and was able to turn it in. For the remainder of the history class, they were just instructed to write a four-page essay, single space on the animals used in World War II and turn it in at the end of class.

"Okay, class! Time's up! Please hand in your papers and you can go off and eat lunch!"

Before Kumiko could, Mikoto stood up and turned in his paper. However, he walked over to the doorway and just waited until Kumiko finished writing. She noticed this and looked at him with a smile.

She wrote her last sentence and walked over to Mr. Sato's desk. He thanked her and she made her way over to Mikoto so they could walk out together. Before she made it to him, Noemi grabbed her arm and pulled her outside, surprising both Kumiko and Mikoto.

"Kumiko-chan! I want to talk to you a bit!"

"W-wait, Noemi!"

"Oh don't worry! I'll give you back to Suoh-kun!"

She blushed. "You say it like we're dating..."

They now moved to a less crowded crowded area of the hallway. "I thought you guys were. My bad. So you guys are...just friends with benefits," she finished with a smirk.

Kumiko widened her eyes. "Wait...did you tell everyone that you thought we were..."

Noemi giggled and said, "that's a terrible accusation, Kumiko-chan!"

"CUT THE CRAP! Was it you?"

"Ehe...I thought you'd be able to figure it out sooner."

"Why'd you do it?" Kumiko said through clenched teeth.

"Oh c'mon, Kumiko-chan. You know me."

"Yeah. 'Wannabe popular' who _enjoys_ making others feel bad just to make herself feel superior."

"Y'know, if you weren't such a smart-ass, I might actually be friends with you."

"That's a load of bull crap and you know it. All you care about is the outer appearance. I could be a smart-ass and the most beautiful girl in this school and you'd want to become best buddies with me. As exemplified when school started. Now if you'll excuse me. I'm going to get back to a real friend."

She began walking away, but then she heard Noemi mutter out a "slut."

Kumiko stormed toward her, brought up her hand, and slapped Noemi straight across the face.

"I've heard enough from you," Kumiko said in a dead serious expression. She glared one last time at Noemi before walking back to Mikoto. From behind her, she heard people comforting Noemi. Some of them even cursed out Kumiko. She looked back and saw about seven students or so glaring back at her. She furrowed her brows and walked back to her lunch buddy.

"What was that all about?" Mikoto asked, pushing himself off of the wall and walking back into the classroom with Kumiko.

"I highly doubt any interactions we have with Noemi really don't need an explanation anymore."

They both sat down at their seats and she pulled out two bentos for her and Mikoto.

"You're right," he smirked and opened the bento. It was another panda themed one. This time, there were two rice balls rolled up made to look like two panda bodies next to each other. There were two pieces of nori cut out in semicircles and placed on the top of each "bear" to make the ears. Next, the shape of the pandas' eyes were cut from the nori as well as the noses, and this time, a curve was made to display the mouth. The pandas were also blushing. The blush was made out of two small ovals of spam. There were also pieces of meat in front of the pandas. To top it off, they were surrounded by eggs and an assortment of vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots, and lettuce. He looked to the right of him and, just like the last time, her box looked the same as his.

"What's with you and pandas?"

"They're easy to make. And what's wrong with pandas?"

He smirked and shook his head.

"Y'know, I've been thinking. Maybe I can come over to HOMRA after school and do my homework there. I mean if I need help, you can help me maybe? Plus, we can still hang out!"

"Someone really wants to see me," Mikoto said in a plain voice before eating a carrot.

She blushed. "N-no! That's not it, Baka Mikoto! I-I just thought that since you were nice enough to visit me, I'll go and visit you while you're away from school!"

Mikoto seemed to be in deep thought as he stared at his bento.

"Mikoto?" Kumiko asked.

"Hn? Oh. Well, I'd rather not spend my time away from school...talking about it."

"Theeen I'll just go over and not talk to you about it!"

Mikoto sighed, making Kumiko frown. "Do you want me to just stay home tomorrow?"

"Hn. No. Come after, I guess."

Kumiko smiled and was filled with a little bit of joy. The way he said it made it seem like he wasn't up to seeing her. She'd double check with him later.

The students soon came filing in the classroom. Some went to sit over by their friend for the time being until class started. Others just sat down and read or studied. Kumiko and Mikoto noticed that there were four empty seats. Kumiko frowned and Mikoto looked a bit stressed out.

'_Those guys must be in a serious condition if they still aren't back yet_,' Kumiko thought to herself.

A tall black, haired student, named Harou Akiyama, walked up to Mikoto's desk and smacked the hand supporting his head to the side, causing Mikoto's face to crash down to his desk.

"Hey!" Kumiko shouted.

Harou ignored her and said to Mikoto, whose head was still on the desk. "Thanks to you, Akira, Takeshi, Kazuhito, and Etsuo have fractured noses, possible concussions, and had to go to the hospital for stitches."

Mikoto lazily lifted his head up and furrowed his brows at the one standing in front of him.

"Maybe you should know what it felt like for them," Harou said and brought his fist up to punch Mikoto in the face. Harou swung at Mikoto so fast that it took her a while to process what just happened. But Mikoto was easily able to grab his fist and keep it from making contact with his face. Everyone else looked at the scene that played out before them and stared in shock. Mikoto began to subconsciously crush Harou's hand.

"O-OI! SUOH-KUN! LET GO!"

Mikoto stared at his distressed look for a while and released his fist. Harou rubbed at his hand. "Geez, Suoh-kun. Anything to protect your whore, huh?"

Mikoto shot up out of his seat and grabbed him by the shirt collar, bringing the room to silence. "Get this through your head. We're not sleeping together."

Kumiko blushed at how straightforward he was. He's always so blunt about things. Because of this, she always tends to blush at whatever words leave his mouth.

"Suoh-san," Mr. Sato stepped in the room. "Please release him."

Mikoto looked at Mr. Sato, then back to Harou and he set him back on his feet. Harou straightened his uniform out and glared at Mikoto and Kumiko before heading back to his seat.

"Okay, everyone. Take out your math notes and we will continue with chapter five."

During the duration of class, Kumiko couldn't help but notice Mikoto just staring down at his notebook, like he was in deep thought again. She really wanted to know what was on his mind. She wrote him a note that said, _"hey! Wake up, Mikoto! :) Is everything okay? :("_

She put it on his desk and continued to take notes. Soon after, she heard the paper being unfolded to her left. Kumiko slightly turned her head and saw a distressed look plastered on his face as well as him clenching a corner of the note. She just turned her attention back to the front of the classroom and didn't receive a note from him for the rest of class.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"After you guys clean up, you may go home!"

Kumiko and Mikoto stayed in the classroom to clean while everyone else went outside in the halls to sweep or clean the restrooms. In other words, it was very awkward for the red-head and brunette. Kumiko was cleaning the windows that overlooked the courtyard, while Mikoto was across the room sweeping.

"Mikoto?" Kumiko stopped cleaning for a bit and turned to face him. "Is everything okay?"

She heard him grumble and she frowned and went back to the windows.

"This is probably the last time I'll walk with you," Mikoto said.

Kumiko widened her eyes and looked back at Mikoto again. "Really? How come?" She tried to mask her disappointment.

He didn't answer her and put the broom away. He walked over to his desk and grabbed his bag and walked out of the classroom.

Kumiko quickly put away the cloth she used to clean the windows, grabbed her bag, and followed Mikoto out.

"Mikoto, what do you mean this is probably the last time we're walking together?"

She looked at him, but he didn't bother looking down at her. Kumiko decided that she should just be quiet until they get to her house.

Everywhere they went, Kumiko appreciated the scenery around her and Mikoto. Her and Mikoto. For probably the last time, according to him. Despite the fact that it was snowing and freezing cold, she wanted to sit down at the park, the one from her dream. There were no kids playing around on the snow-covered equipment, so she tugged on his sweater.

"Mikoto, can we sit down for a bit?"

He didn't listen to her and just kept walking forward. He still didn't look down at her either. She couldn't really enjoy this walk if he wasn't going to talk with her.

"My feet hurt," she lied. "Is it okay if we rest?"

He closed his eyes and sighed. Next, he bent down, placed one hand under her knees and one hand under her back and lifted her up.

"Mikoto!"

"What?"

She smiled. "You talked to me."

He looked down at her with a blank expression and continued to walk.

"You're acting strange today. Did anyone else say something to you?"

"No."

"Will you not tell me what's wrong? I want to help you," she said with a gentle smile.

"I'm fine."

"I hope I'm not the problem."

Mikoto stayed quiet.

"Oh! I am! I'm sorry! I'll do anything—"

"You can just be quiet until we get to your house."

She nodded and just continued to do what she was doing before she talked to Mikoto: enjoy the scenery before her. She turned her head out from Mikoto's chest and saw two sibling toddlers running around, pretending to be airplanes. Their mother and father picked them up and half-scolded, half-teased them about running off from them. She turned her gaze to a young girl hugging a young boy's arm. They laughed, poked fun at each other, and shared kisses here and there. Lucky them, Kumiko thought to herself.

They made it to her neighborhood and they were just a few steps away from her house.

_Four...three...two...one_

Mikoto stopped in front of her house and set her down. She turned around to face him and was going to talk to him before he walked away.

She bowed her head and looked at the ground. "Are-are you going to tell me what's going on now?"

He looked down at her and closed his eyes. "Don't come to HOMRA."

She shot her eyes back up at him. "How come?"

"Don't question it. Just don't come back."

"But I want a reason as to why I shouldn't come back. If you tell me, then I'll have a better chance of not going back."

He was quiet for a moment before he opened his mouth to answer.

"And don't lie," Kumiko said.

"I don't want you to come back."

Her heart sank and she dared ask, "why?"

"Just leave it at the fact that I don't want you to visit HOMRA anymore."

"But you can't just tell me not to visit anymore without giving me a reason—"

"Because I don't want to see you anymore."

Kumiko tightened her grip around her school bag. "You don't want to see me anymore?"

"No."

She bit her lip and looked back down at the ground. "Will you tell me why you don't want to see me?"

"You piss me off."

Kumiko's eyes widened and she let a small, quiet gasp escape her lips. "But...but you kissed me. Were you toying with me?" Her voice sounded more angry than hurt.

"Sorry," he said in a plain voice that did _not _sound apologetic at all.

Her eyes were beginning to tear up, but she tried her best to keep them from spilling down her face. "Ehe...it...it doesn't bother me," she forced out a laugh and smile to him that he obviously saw as fake. "But let me get this straight. You said this might be our last time walking together and you said not to come to HOMRA. Are you sure you're just trying to keep me away."

Mikoto glared at her, taking her by surprise. "I'm sure. I don't want to see you anymore. You were just someone who didn't mean anything to me at all who was also annoying. So don't wait for me after school anymore. Or, just don't talk to me at all anymore. Go back to before we met at the hospital." He turned his back on her. "Now, we're just strangers."

He started walking away and she reached for his sweater again. He was out of reach now, and she didn't feel like taking the extra steps needed to get to him. She just watched his back as he walked away from her.

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**Aaanndd the chapter's over. :) Thanks for all the reviews/views/favorites/follows! For the bentos, the inspiration came from flickr user, "luckysundae".**

**Natsumi: You're welcome for this story! Glad to know you like it. :) And thanks! lol**

**Miechan-ish: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad Totsuka looks okay. I hope I can just keep it up for all of the characters. o.o; Aaallssooo, I'm glad my story was able to make you squeal! :D Aaallssooo, Mikoto is…Mikoto. Haha. Very quiet n stuff. That's y he's so subtle in showing affection. Haha!**

**xkurofishy: Thank you!**

**bereniceibuado: Thank you! I hope you'll love the upcoming shtuff. :)**

**Critics: Thanks for all your advice! I hope I can continue to please you if you haven't left yet. OAO;; lol But thanks for the help. :)**

**Guest: Haha. Oops. Thanks for the correction. :)**

**PurePrincess: I hope you can enjoy future chapters! Thanks!**

**CrylikeRaina: Why wouldn't Mikoto tell Izumo, maann? They're best buddies! :D haha. Thanks for loving the story. :)**

**SilverNeira: Well, you were partially right. :) She did get hurt, but not in the exact way you thought. Buuut thanks for the review! Glad you like it!**

**Sorry I don't reply in all chapter updates. :( But I appreciate all those who read it n stuff! See you in the next chapter!**

**I put too many smileys… OAO**


	6. To Protect You

**Hi, everyone! I was thinking about updating this NEXT week, but I decided to do it today! :D haha. **

**xenocanaan: Hope you enjoy this! **

**Kyoichi Amaya: lol I'm sorry! It won't be so sad all of the time though! There will be happy moments. Haha! And yes…yes she is. :)**

**xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx: You'll get your answer in this chapter! :D**

**Natsumi: Don't worry about reviewing the other chapters. It's all good. And thanks for that tip about the names. :) I'm still learnin'…still learnin'. But if there's anything else, feel free to tell me what's wrong n stuff. :)**

**Miechan-ish: haha! Dat stuffed lion. :) enjoy this chapter!**

**MikOTOFAn: TTwTT lol sorry I gave you such feels. If Noemi was real, I'd probably slap her too. lol. **

**Nomatophobia: Here is the new chapter! I hope you enjoy it!**

**Enjoy the story and HAPPY SUPER BOWL! xD**

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_"I don't want to see you anymore."_

These were the words that rang obnoxiously throughout Kumiko's head for the whole night. She felt like she just went through a bad break up, even though they weren't even dating. He said he toyed with her feelings, but she couldn't believe that. She couldn't accept everything he told her. But that didn't stop her from feeling like she was just shot.

She was now sitting with a talkative Tatara at the dinner table. He was happily telling her how his day went while eating his food. Her, on the other hand, just poked and stared at her food.

Tatara focused his full attention on her. "And then Hibiki-kun asked me if I wanted to do drugs with him! I told him that'd be cool! So we went behind the school and smoked!"

"That's nice, Tatara..."

He gave her a gentle smile and rest his head on his hand. "Ah so you weren't listening to me."

"That's nice, Tatara..." She repeated, not missing a beat.

"What's wrong, Onee-chan? You were so happy this morning! What happened?"

Kumiko stopped twirling her food and put her fork down. "I'm going to bed."

Tatara stood up and held her wrist. "Tell me what's wrong."

Her head was bowed down, so he couldn't read her expression. "Just let me go...please."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong!"

"Please. I'm really worn out."

He frowned and slowly released her wrist. "Tell me when you're ready, okay? I want to help."

She nodded and walked up the stairs to her room. Once she made it to her room, she closed the door behind her and plopped down on her bed. She whipped her phone out to check if she had any messages from a certain someone, saying he took what he said back.

_No new messages_

She stared at the bright screen of her phone for a couple of seconds before snapping it shut. She just stared at her piano across her bed, off to the side. Soon, tears began to fall from her eyes and she curled up with her Kapibara-san, crying herself to sleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Oh hey, Mikoto!" Izumo greeted as the red-head entered HOMRA bar.

Mikoto just walked over to his chair by the bar and sat down, saying nothing back to Izumo. He put his head on his hand and closed his eyes.

"Something wrong?" Izumo asked.

Mikoto sighed. "Make me some tea."

It was Izumo's turn to sigh, but he grabbed a cup, poured hot water in it, placed a tea bag inside, and placed the drink in front of Mikoto. He watched Mikoto as he took a sip of the tea and waited for him to speak.

Mikoto caught Izumo's look and said. "Don't look at me like that. It's creepy."

Izumo chuckled. "Then tell me what's up."

Mikoto looked at his drink and messed with the tea bag.

"Hm...does it have to do with Kumiko-chan?"

The red-head closed his eyes.

"It is. What happened?"

"Today, everyone found out I went over to her house while she was gone and they thought we were sleeping together."

Izumo gave him a confused look. "Ah—okay? So that's why you look so upset?"

"I beat up four guys who made fun of her."

Realization finally swept over the bartender. "How bad was it?"

"There was blood, they might have fractured noses, but they definitely have stitches."

"Huhhh...what did you tell Kumiko-chan?"

"To stay away," Mikoto said as he clenched his fists.

"Do you really want her to stay away?"

Mikoto furrowed his brows and grumbled.

"If you want her to stay around, then why ask her to stay away?"

"Izumo...you know why. Don't play stupid."

Izumo chuckled. "How much do you like her?"

He grumbled in response.

"Maybe you should take a risk. I don't think you'll hurt her."

"What if I do? Then it's your fault for telling me to risk it."

"Aha...Mikoto don't be so mean," Izumo laughed nervously. "But if you do, just hope she isn't scared of you afterwards..."

Mikoto sighed, resulting in Izumo patting him on the shoulder. "Sounds like she needs you now. From the way you described things at school."

"Tch. She can handle herself fine."

"What happened when they teased her?"

"..."

"Well?"

"She ran out."

"See. It does sound like she needs you."

"She has Totsuka."

Izumo sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Yeah that's nice. But she probably wants you right now."

Mikoto's heart was pounding, but he didn't want to admit it. So he just closed his eyes and tightened his grip around the handle of the cup. His grip was so tight around the cup, that he actually shattered the handle and dropped the cup on the marble counter, making it fall over and spill the tea.

"AH—YOU'RE PAYING FOR THAT YOU KNOW," Izumo angrily said.

"Yeah yeah."

"And you're gonna talk to Kumiko-chan."

Mikoto glared at Izumo.

"Alright, alright," The blonde said. "But just keep her feelings in mind."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tatara walked up to Kumiko's room and knocked on her door softly.

"Onee-chan? I'm coming in."

When he didn't hear a response, he pushed the door open and saw her sleeping peacefully on her bed with her Kapibara-san. When he walked closer, he saw that she had a tear going down the side of her face. He wiped at it and he frowned.

"I hope everything is okay."

He headed toward the door and he heard the blankets rustle.

"Mikoto..." she mumbled in her sleep, capturing the full attention of Tatara. "Don't...do this..."

"So it does have something to do with King. Or...that's what it seems like," Tatara whispered.

She suddenly shot up from her sleep and ran her hands through her hair. She hung her head and placed her elbows on her knees.

"Onee-chan?"

Kumiko got startled and shot her gaze towards Tatara at the door. She started to cry and she covered her face with her hands. Tatara walked over to her and pulled her into a hug.

"Please don't be sad," he said. "What happened between you and King?"

She clenched her fists around the fabric of Tatara's shirt. "Can I just go back to sleep?"

"No! If you hold in your feelings like this, it won't be healthy!"

"I don't care! Just let me go to sleep, Tatara!" She snapped.

He was taken aback by her shouting and just released his hold on her. She got under a blanket and shut her eyes. Tatara frowned and walked out of her room, worried for his big sis.

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**THE NEXT DAY**

"It's time to wake up," Tatara said, already dressed in his uniform, which consisted of a black jacket over a white button down shirt and black pants. He lightly shook her arm which was enough for her to roll over and sit up. He took in her unkempt appearance; messy bed-head, red nose, and puffy, red eyes. Her baggy sweater hung over one shoulder and one of her pant legs was pushed up her leg, while the other one was normal.

She turned to the side to hang her feet over the bed.

"There you go," Tatara said. "Now just stand up."

It took her a little while, but she finally stood up, grabbed her uniform, and trudged to the bathroom. When she was in there, she took the time to take in her appearance as well. She grumbled and began her morning routine of showering, brushing her teeth and hair, and washing her face.

She walked out of the bathroom and fixed her sweater and tie.

"I'm leaving, Tatara. Lock up when you're done here," Kumiko said as she grabbed her bag and walked out.

She looked in front of her and just saw kids running in front of her gate. Not the violent teen she's grown close to.

She continued to slowly walk to school, constantly wiping at her eyes. She always hated how she was so mentally weak, always needing someone to depend on. But she was going to attempt to ignore all the possible teasing today. She wasn't going to let some immature students ruin her day.

Kumiko arrived at school and the whispering and staring had already begun. She did her best to ignore them and headed for her classroom. Once there, everyone grew silent and situated themselves in their seats. She headed over to her seat and just rest her head on her hand.

"Totsuka Kumiko?" A voice behind Kumiko said.

Kumiko ignored the sound of the guy's voice and continued to stare at the snow falling outside. She thought it was just some boy trying to harass her again. The sound of someone pulling a chair up in front of Kumiko's desk could be heard. Her eyebrows twitched in annoyance and she clicked her tongue as she turned to see who was sitting in front of her. It was Reisi Munakata. Kumiko didn't really know the boy. All she knew was that he was from class 2-B. She didn't know why on earth he was in class 2-D's room, let alone talking to her. He had black hair with bangs sweeping to the left, and he had dark, violet eyes behind square, frame-less glasses.

Kumiko looked at him, then averted her eyes back to the snow sticking to the foggy windows.

Munakata looked at her then followed her gaze outside, "snow is interesting to look at. It's peaceful, watching it slowly fall to something then growing attached to it. Seeing it all pile up and watch children enjoy themselves in it."

Kumiko didn't answer.

"Times like these, it would be nice to just watch it from home on a snow day. Don't you think so?"

"Hm."

"Well, she does speak. Glad to know."

This conversation reminded her of her and Mikoto. Only she was playing the role of Mikoto, and Munakata, the role of her.

"So...I heard you were being bullied..."

Kumiko turned her head towards the male. "You here to bully me too? You want my number? Well sorry. I don't give it out."

"No. Not at all. It doesn't seem healthy being alone like this and moping."

Kumiko stared at him and looked back out the window for the umpteenth time. "Thanks...I guess."

He continued looking at her. "See you at lunch."

"W-Wait! Muna—" Before Kumiko could object, Munakata was already out of the room and Mr. Sato had stepped in, informing the class that the day was beginning.

And a boring day it was. The bright side was that she was beginning to understand what she missed. The class was given word problems in math and science and Kumiko thought she might die. But after a couple more practice problems, she found herself getting used to the work. But not entirely.

They then moved to the locker rooms to change for P.E. There was no way Kumiko was going to change in the locker room with the other girls. So she went to a bathroom to change. One, she didn't want anyone seeing the scars and faded bruises that covered her body and two, she just wasn't comfortable showing off that much skin. After she put her bag in her gym locker, she tied her hair up and walked into the gym.

"OKAY! GIVE ME SEVEN LAPS AROUND THE GYM! GO!" Their P.E. instructor ordered. Everyone did as he said and began their laps. While Kumiko was running, some of the students teased her as they pointed out her chest. Kumiko bit her lip and tried to block them out. She would suck it up and endure P.E.

This proved to be hard. Throughout the whole class, she felt some of the boys' gazes directed at her. Some weren't afraid of whistling or telling her directly what they wanted.

When they went out to the hall for their water break, Kumiko stood off to the side and waited for everyone to finish drinking before she would have a turn. When they were finished, they headed toward the gym, and Kumiko, to the water fountain.

"Hey, Kumiko-chan. Suoh-san isn't here to protect you, huh? That's what he gets for beating us up," the four boys, Akira, Takeshi, Kazuhito, and Etsuo, said. Kumiko observed how they looked today. Akira's forehead had a bandages wrapped around it, Takeshi and Kazuhito both had a bandage over the bridge of their noses and a very large bruise on their forehead. Etsuo might have been in the worst condition. He had a black eye, a bandage over the bridge of his nose as well, and a bandage wrapping around his forehead. Finally, they all had a piece of fabric covering a small part of their bottom lip.

Kumiko ignored them and bent over to drink water. Before the water reached her mouth, Akira had grabbed her wrist and pinned her to the wall. "Don't walk away like that. We were talking to you."

She furrowed her brows. "Well now you have my attention. Spit it out before you lose it."

They grew angry and Takeshi slapped her. "Anyways," Kazuhito said. "Where is he? We want to get even," he put his lips near her ear and whispered, "I bet you know where he is."

Kumiko swallowed and said, "So what if I do know? I'm not gonna let you guys do that." Yes she was frustrated with him, but she still cared for Mikoto and wouldn't let these idiots hurt him.

They were about to say something, but a male voice from down the hall said, "release her."

The five of them turned their heads to see Munakata calmly walking down the hallway.

"Munakata-san! Stay out of this!" Etsuo yelled.

He gave them a deadly glare and they all ran back into the gym like dogs with their tails between their legs.

"Honestly..." Munakata said and pushed his glasses up.

"Thanks," Kumiko said in an expressionless voice and headed for the gym.

"Don't forget, lunch in your home room," Munakata said in a plain voice.

Kumiko ignored him and went back into the gym.

"Okay," their instructor said. "We will begin the fitness exam. These are your partners..."

He read the pairs in the class. When he got to Kumiko, she wanted to pass out when he said, "Totsuka-san and Takahashi-san."

Kumiko looked over at Noemi to see her giving her a sassy look that said, "ugh."

"Now get with your partners and we will begin the timed sit-ups."

Kumiko hesitantly walked over to Noemi.

"Who's going first?" Kumiko asked.

"Obviously you."

Kumiko sighed, lied on her back, crossed her arms in front of her chest, and bent her knees. She soon felt Noemi place pressure on her feet, signaling that she was also ready to begin.

"One minute staaarts...NOW!"

Kumiko began lifting herself up and tried to ignore Noemi's look.

"How's Suoh-san?"

Kumiko ignored Noemi partly because if she talked, her energy would drain faster.

"How come you're not visiting him? He probably _really_ wants to see you."

"Shut up, Noemi."

"Did you guys have a squabble?"

"One, no. And two, shut up."

"You guys must have fought. Don't worry, you guys might make up and get back to do—"

When Kumiko came up to meet Noemi, she gave her a slap across the face. "Poor, Noemi. Don't know when to shut your mouth."

Noemi glared and was about to hit her back, but their teacher blew his whistle and said, "times up! Next partner, go!"

Noemi switched places with Kumiko and got ready to do her own sit-ups.

"Y'know," Noemi started as she was doing her exercises. "Mikoto...he's pretty cute, huh?"

Kumiko furrowed her brows and waited for Noemi to continue.

"Don't you think?"

"Why are you asking me this?"

"Hmm...no reason."

"Why. Are. You. Asking. Me. This?"

"Time's up! Do push-ups!"

Kumiko bent down in a plank position and began her push-ups.

"Well, plenty of girls might have their eyes on him."

"What...are you trying...to say?" Kumiko tried to manage out while she did her push-ups.

"Juuust sayin'. How would you feel if he did date someone else? Would you be mad?" She smirked. "Would you be _jealous_?"

"Noemi...shut up, and if you say one more—AH!"

Noemi furtively and lightly kicked Kumiko's left arm. Her elbow bent and before she could process what just happened, Kumiko's arm twisted in a weird way and she fell on top of it. She tried to brush it off and continue her push-ups, but once she put weight on that arm, she crashed to the floor again.

"Kumiko-chan!" Noemi yelled and bent down to her. "Are you okay?"

Kumiko glared at her. Their instructor came over to them and took Kumiko's arm in his hold to examine it. He lightly twisted it and she hissed in pain.

"Takahashi-san, please escort—"

"I got it," Kumiko interrupted and stood up.

"Are you sure Kumiko-chan? I can help—"

"NO," she replied too quickly. "I can get to the nurse's just fine."

She walked out of the gym and headed to the nurse's office across the courtyard.

"Ugh, Noemi. Why is she such a—"

"Totsuka-san," someone said.

Kumiko stopped her mumbling and turned to the source of the noise.

"Munakata-san," she acknowledged and continued walking. "Why do I keep running into you?"

"You say it like it's a bad thing," he replied as he ran to catch up with her.

"Well no offense, but I'm not exactly in the mood for company. Not you specifically. But...just in general."

"What happened to your arm?" He asked, completely ignoring what she just told him.

"Nothing."

"Ah. So are you faking?"

"I-It's a real injury!"

"Hm."

"Don't 'hm' me, Munakata-san!"

"Sorry," he said with a smirk. "Just a habit."

Kumiko grumbled and slid open the door to the nurse. She bid Munakata a farewell and told the nurse what had happened...kind of. She had told the nurse that she just injured her arm in P.E. Kumiko didn't want any more trouble with Noemi. In fact, she didn't even want anything at all to do with Noemi. The nurse had told Kumiko that her elbow was sprained, but not too badly. However, she would still have to rest it for a while.

"Don't do any activities that might cause more pain for it. Hmm...make sure you apply ice and heat to it," the nurse explained as she put Kumiko's elbow in a splint. "Okay...you should be alright! Here's a note for your P.E. teacher explaining the whole deal. Have a good and painless rest of the day!" She said with a smile.

"Thank you very much."

Kumiko walked outside and turned the corner to find Munakata leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "That didn't take too long," he said and pushed himself off. "Let's go eat."

"Okay one, were you there the whole time? And two, can I eat lunch by myself?"

"One, yes. And two, nonsense. You shouldn't be alone all of the time."

"Well sometimes being by myself helps me think."

"The thing is you're probably thinking about something that makes you feel down."

Kumiko's eyebrows twitched in annoyance. "So what if I do? I'm normally a happy person. Just let me be negative now."

"Highly unlikely."

Kumiko wanted to smack him right now. But she just said, "fine. Let me change and I'll be right there."

He nodded and left her to do her business. Kumiko walked into the already empty gym and handed the note to her teacher. He bid her a quick recovery and she thanked him and walked out. She peaked in the changing room and luckily, no one was there. But she still rushed to her locker in the corner of the room and quickly changed back into her school uniform. She brushed her hair and thought her appearance was decent enough before she headed back to her home room for lunch.

When she opened the door, sure enough, Reisi Munakata was at her desk, messing with a jigsaw puzzle.

She sat down and just began to eat.

"You're here," he said.

"So it seems. What are you doing?"

"A jigsaw puzzle."

"I realize it's a jigsaw puzzle, smarty. What I meant was what are you doing it now for? Don't you want to eat?"

"I actually ate already. As for doing the puzzle now, well, I'm quite fond of them and do them in my spare time. Do you want to help me?"

She took a sip from her juice box and stared at him. He was holding a puzzle piece in one hand, and placed a knuckle to his chin in thought with his other hand. His eyes scanned the in-progress puzzle. It wasn't long before she picked up one piece and decided to help him.

"How's your arm?" He asked as he placed the puzzle piece down.

"Fine..."

"I'm not here to tease. Feel free to talk to me about what's on your mind."

She looked at him. She couldn't tell if he was sincere or not because of the blank way he said it. Then again, he was into the puzzle, so maybe he was being sincere.

"Do you talk to Mikoto?"

"No. I actually don't favor, Suoh."

"Oh."

"Is there a reason why you asked?" he asked, putting the piece in his hand, down and turned his head up to look at her.

"No. Just wondering. But why don't you like him? Did he do something terrible?"

"He acts on his own and does whatever he wants. He just needs to control himself more."

She gave a small giggle.

"What is it?"

"It's just true. He does act on his own."

He smiled. "Glad to see you laughing. I thought that scowl might have been permanent."

She stopped laughing and tried to put on a serious face. Her attempt failed and she burst out laughing again.

"I guess you were right. Having someone is better than being alone."

"Of course."

"What do you mean 'of course'?"

He smirked. "Of course I was right."

"Ah...yeah."

He chuckled. "It was a joke, Totsuka-san."

She blushed. "Can you not call me that...I feel...old..."

He chuckled again. "What do you prefer?"

"I don't know! What would you call me? Besides Totsuka-san..."

"Hmmm...Well I would call you Totsuka-chan-"

She cut him off. "That's good."

"Well, then you don't have to call me Munakata-san."

"Okay...then I'll just call you...Munakata-kun..."

He smirked and sighed. "Alright. Seems fine. How are you feeling now?"

"I'm still...feeling a bit crappy. But better than how I felt at the beginning of the day."

"That's great. Well," he said, and looked at the completed puzzle. "I better be getting back to class."

"Bye, Munakata-kun. Oh wait! Aren't you going to take your puzzle?" Kumiko asked as she began cleaning it up.

"Mmm...keep it. It can keep you busy."

Before she could talk to him anymore, he was out of the room and left her with the puzzle. Before she completely cleaned up the puzzle, she looked at the picture which was a house covered in snow. In fact, everything in the puzzle was covered in snow. The trees featured in the picture were white and bare. There was also a red car passing in front of the house. A snowman was in the front yard. It had rock eyes and buttons as well as mouth, a carrot nose, sticks for arms, a red hat, and red mittens. She loved how its arms we're placed to look like they were welcoming the one driving the car.

She smiled and cleaned the puzzle up since lunch was over, and class was starting.

Throughout the rest of the day, Kumiko felt much better. Even though he was annoying at first, Kumiko was glad Munakata had spent lunch with her. Deep down, she still felt skeptical about him and who he really was. Maybe he was a nice guy, maybe he was just another plastic. She just wished it wasn't the latter.

Kumiko lifelessly watched Mr. Sato write kanji on the board that was their homework assignment for the weekend.

"For your final assignment for the day, it'll be just a simple one. Construct a short poem about anything you want. You haaaave," Mr. Sato looked at the clock. "Seven minutes. You'll turn it in to me at the end and you'll present it on Monday. You can start."

The first thing that Kumiko thought about was Mikoto. She scratched that out and thought of something else. Just like what everyone else was doing, she tapped her pencil against her chin and looked around for inspiration. _A poem about chalkboards_, Kumiko thought to herself. She shook her head and continued to think. Whatever she tried to think about just kept leading back to Mikoto. She sighed a frustrated sigh and just went on to write her poem about him. She looked outside and took in the view of the snow. A light bulb went off in her head and she began to mark up her paper.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On his way home from school, Tatara saw a certain red-head with his blonde friend.

"King!" he shouted.

Mikoto ignored him and just kept walking. Izumo, however, turned around then said, "huh? Oh Kumiko-chan's brother."

Tatara ran to try and catch up with them.

"Do you know why Kumiko is sad?"

Mikoto still ignored him, but Izumo asked him, "ahh how is Kumiko-chan?"

Tatara frowned. "She didn't eat last night or this morning. Plus, it was like she had _NO_ life in her. I hope she's doing fine now..."

Izumo frowned and looked at Mikoto who was wearing a hard to read expression. "Totsuka. Take us to your home so we can visit her."

"Okay! I—"

"I'm not going," Mikoto blurted out.

Izumo and Tatara stopped walking. Izumo grabbed onto Mikoto's arm, causing him to look back at him with a scowl.

"Go back, Mikoto."

He continued to stare at Izumo with an angry face.

"Tch," Mikoto scoffed and continued to walk.

"Is he going in the direction of your house?"

Tatara shook his head.

Izumo sighed and stared at Mikoto's back as he slowly left them.

"What's wrong with King?"

"It's complicated. But he's been moping all day today, too."

"Wait...he's sad too?"

Izumo nodded. "He wants to see Kumiko-chan, but another part of him doesn't."

"What is he trying to do?!"

"He's trying to keep her safe."

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**Finished! You all knew why Mikoto distanced himself from Kumiko, but, I just wanted someone to actually say it in the story. :)**

**And Munakata's in the story! :3 I don't think he went to the same high school as Mikoto, but…oh well! lol**

**Have a nice day!**


	7. Coffee Shop Bonding

**HEYO! I am SO SORRY for not updating in a while. I was swamped with homework and schoolwork. Okay kind of, but it was enough work to make me hold off on writing this for a while. But since I have a four day weekend and not much homework, I PRESENT THE NEXT CHAPTER!  
Oh yeah, this chapter **_**will **_**feel rushed, and I am COMPLETELY SORRY. But I just want to give those reading this something to read**

**I promise I'll work hard to make the next chapter better!**

**But for now, enjoy this quick chapter! oAo"**

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"AHHH!" Tatara turned the tv down and heard Kumiko screaming. He threw the remote to the side, jumped over the couch, and ran up to her room. He flew the door open and saw her clutching at her blankets as she screamed in her sleep.

"Onee-chan! Wake up!" he shook her arm and her tear-filled eyes shot open.

"Are you okay?"

Kumiko stared at him then rolled over on her back. She draped her arm over eyes and took deep breaths in and out.

"Ugh..." she mumbled and rubbed her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Tatara asked again.

She buried her face in her hands before running her hands through her hair. "I have no idea."

"Did the dream have to do with King?"

He saw tears make their way down her cheeks.

"You should go visit him today."

She rolled over, her back facing him.

"He wants to see you."

Kumiko's ears perked and she turned her head to look at Tatara. "What? How do you know?"

"I...ran into him yesterday."

Kumiko sat up. "And he told you that he wanted to see me?"

"Well...Kusanagi-san told me."

She laid back down and grumbled. "Oh..."

"King's having a tough time, too."

"Why? Why would he be having a hard time?"

"Kusanagi-san said...well...that he was trying to protect you."

She rolled over to look at Tatara with wide eyes. "Protect me?"

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_"He's trying to protect her," Izumo said._

_"Protect her?"_

_"Ya see, he beat up four kids at school because they were teasing Kumiko-chan. It may have looked like he just beat them up like any other high school ruffian, but when it comes to Mikoto, no one knew how much he probably had to restrain himself. He would have gladly killed them. But he forced himself to stop. Mikoto's hot-headed and he's distancing himself because he's worried he might hurt Kumiko-chan."_

_"But...but will he ever talk to her again? She's hurting."_

_Izumo sighed. "Hmm...aha! Maybe she can come over tomorrow?"_

_"I don't know...she might just lay in bed."_

_"We'll think of something. But for now, just tell her Mikoto wants to see her."_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"He's trying to protect me from himself?"

Tatara nodded and grabbed her wrist. "Let's go and get ready to see him," he said with a small smile.

"I'll...do so later."

"Now, Onee-chan!"

"If you keep pushing for me to go, I won't."

"Aha! But I know you really want to go. And you'll just end up going, eventually."

Kumiko pouted and got up out of bed. She rummaged around in her closet and pulled out a black skirt, gray tank top, black sweater, and long, black socks. She showered, brushed her teeth and hair, and looked for her coat.

"Tatara! Where's my jacket?"

He tossed it to her. "Now go out there and talk to King!"

She nodded and walked out the door. Once outside, her smile disappeared and she sighed. Instead of walking over to HOMRA, Kumiko was going to roam around Shizume City. She just told Tatara that she would visit Mikoto to get him off of her back. She would visit him when she's ready. Buuuut for now, she was just going to spend time in the city.

"I thought I told you that being alone wasn't healthy?"

Kumiko whipped around and saw Munakata leaning against a light post. He wore a black winter coat, a dark gray plaid scarf, and black jeans.

"Do you always appear out of nowhere?" Kumiko asked and started walking past him.

He jogged to catch up with her. "No. You just happen to always run into me."

She rolled her eyes.

"Are you on your way to visit Suoh?"

Kumiko mentally sighed. "I came on this walk so my younger brother would stop bugging me about visiting him."

"You can't ignore him forever."

"Why do you make it seem like we're dating?" She said in a very frustrated tone.

"Well you do like him."

Kumiko furrowed her eye brows and closed her eyes. "Change the topic."

"Alright. You have a younger brother?"

She nodded. "Tatara Totsuka. He can be a handful most of the time. But then again, so can I. What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

"No. Never did."

"Ahh. No wonder why you bug me. No one at home to bug."

"You're right."

"'You're right'," she mocked, making him smile. "Your parents are smart."

"How so?"

"They stopped."

He raised an eye brow in question.

"After having you, they were smart in not having anymore children," she smiled and looked at him. "Can't have another Reisi Munakata running around."

He turned his head and pushed his glasses up.

"What's the matter? You actually don't have a witty comeback?" She smirked.

"You'll eventually pay for that one," he smirked.

"Yeah yeah," she laughed. "So, how many jigsaw puzzles have you completed in your life?"

"Too much to count."

"Guesstimate."

"Hmm...over...sixty?"

"That's a lot."

"I had no idea, Totsuka-chan," he said sarcastically. Kumiko shoved his arm.

"Your turn to ask me something," she said.

"Do you want to sit and have some tea or coffee?" He asked and motioned to the coffee shop to his right.

Kumiko looked around her and finally realized they reached the city. The coffee shop he pointed out said, "COFFEE SHOP" in large, cursive letters over a small baby blue and white striped awning. On the inside, you could see the busy employees running around, serving tiny sandwiches and cups of tea or coffee to the customers sitting at the small round tables.

Munakata held the door open for her and she thanked him as she walked in. While she took off her jacket, Munakata helped her and draped it over a chair. He pulled the chair out and she smiled when she sat down.

"You're suuuuch a gentleman, Munakata-kun," she teased and pretended to swoon over him.

"Thank you," he smirked and walked around to sit across from her.

Before they started talking, a waiter came and took their order. Munakata both ordered them Earl Grey tea.

"You know my hobbies," he started. "So tell me what yours are."

"Mm...I love to play music!" She said with a big smile.

"Really? What do you play?"

"I play piano, my brother plays guitar, and we both sing."

"When did that start?"

"Well...I guess my parents were both musical geniuses. They taught Tatara and I when we were young."

"Were? Taught?"

She nodded. Their tea arrived and she took a sip before saying, "my parents left Tatara and I. It was a 'family outing' kind of day, and we went to the park. We all sat down at a bench, eating ice cream. Then they told us to 'wait right there.' So we did and they got up and walked away. We waited for a couple minutes...which turned to hours and we saw their missing car from the parking lot," she stared at the warm drink in her hands.

"You must perform the piano for me one day," Munakata said, attempting to change the subject.

She looked at him and smiled. "Maybe. I hope I can play music in the future and perform all over the place. What about you?"

He smirked. "I plan on becoming a member of Scepter 4."

"Scepter 4? So you want to become something like a police officer in Shizume City?"

He nodded and crossed his arms.

"So...if I go to jail, I can count on Captain Munakata to bail me out, right?"

"Hmm...only if you promise to give me free concert tickets and backstage passes to your concerts."

"Deal," she said and raised her tea cup. "Cheers to bailing me out of jail and free concert tickets!"

He chuckled and they lightly clinked their glasses together.

"Scepter 4 is also known as the Blue Clan," he said.

"The Blue Clan? You mean the colored clan that was once ruled by Jin Habari?"

"Yes."

"The king that died while clashing with the red king?"

He simply nodded his head.

"And I assume the captain is just another term for king?"

He nodded again.

She frowned and messed with the tea bag. Munakata noticed this and said, "are you worried for me, Totsuka-chan?"

She widened her eyes. "N-NO! I mean we are friends...I think...but I mean I'm—"

He cut her off with a chuckle. "I'm kidding."

She pouted. "I'm not gonna give you free tickets and passes anymore..."

"I won't bail you out of jail."

"Our friendship is cut off."

"You need me more than I need you."

"And why is that?"

"Because we both know that you're going to end up in jail and you need someone to get you out."

She dropped her jaw. "You really suck."

"I don't think that's something you say to someone who's going to bail you out of jail."

She sighed and put her forehead down on her arms. "What is wrong with you?"

He chuckled and finished his tea. "Nothing at all."

She scoffed and finished her tea as well. "Shall we get going?"

Munakata nodded and payed their bill. He put her jacket on her and held the door open for her. She laughed and thanked him. When she walked out, she ran into someone.

"I'm sorry!"

"Kumiko-chan, you look like you're doing well."

She widened her eyes. "Izumo-kun...what are you doing here?"

"Ahh Mikoto's moping is bringing me down. I needed air. Who's your friend?"

"Reisi Munakata," he said and stuck his hand out for Izumo to shake.

"Nice to meet you," Izumo said in a...strange way. "Can I steal Kumiko-chan for a moment?"

"No you can't," she said.

"I'll be waiting for you over there," Munakata said and pointed to some random direction. "Take your time."

She glared daggers into Munakata as he started walking away, then focused them on Izumo. "Yes?"

"Come to HOMRA."

"No."

"He wants—"

"To see me. I get it."

"Don't you want to see him?"

"Izumo-kun, he told me he doesn't want to see me, and you and Tatara said he wants to see me. I know he's trying to protect me from himself, but all this 'go see him, he wants to see you' crap is getting on my nerves. I think I give up already."

"Do you not believe Totsuka and I? Do you want to come and see him for yourself? He's certainly gotten more cranky that's for sure."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I'll come when I'm ready."

"What are you scared of, Kumiko-chan?"

"That he might say something that'll hurt me again, alright?!" she blurted out. "Now if you'll excuse me..." Kumiko pushed past Izumo and jogged over to Munakata.

"Sorry about that."

"It's completely fine. But you do look a bit flustered. Maybe you should go home and rest a bit."

She nodded and they started walking back to her house.

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Izumo trudged into HOMRA to find Mikoto still resting on the couch with an arm draped over his eyes.

"Ah," Mikoto mumbled and looked to see who walked through the door. "Make me something to drink."

Izumo sighed.

"What?" Mikoto said and slowly sat up and ran his hand through his hair.

"I ran into Kumiko-chan."

Mikoto stood up and walked to his seat at the bar. "Great."

"She was with some guy. I don't know who he is. His name was...uh...Re...Reisi Munakata! That's it!"

Mikoto's ears perked. "Good for her."

Izumo walked behind the bar and prepared something for his friend. "It bothers you doesn't it?"

"Shut up."

"I take that as a yes."

Mikoto glared at Izumo and held his cup out to the side to pretend as if he was going to drop it.

"Okay! Okay! Sorry!" Izumo panicked. "She...hm...you have to see her soon."

"Is that so? Why should I?"

"She said she's thinking about giving up."

Mikoto clenched his fists.

"Said if she comes here, you might tell her something that'll hurt her again. So she's scared to hear what you have to say."

"Good. It'll keep her away."

"She's not scared of _you_," Izumo sighed at how dense his friend was being. "Honestly..."

Mikoto lightly shook the cup and watched the drink swish around. "Hn..."

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"Thanks for walking me back," Kumiko said and smiled at Munakata.

"It was no problem at all."

She spaced off, catching his attention. "Is everything okay?"

"Do you think I should see Mikoto?"

"I'm having a strange sense of déjà vu."

"Haha," she said sarcastically.

"Yes. I think you should."

She bit her lip and nodded before she started walking to her door.

"Where are you going?" Munakata asked.

"I'll visit him...mm...some other time except today."

He sighed. "If you say so. Goodbye, Totsuka-chan."

She waved and walked inside.

"Onee-chan! How was King? You look kinda happy. Is everything okay now?"

A wave of guilt crashed into her. Tatara looked so happy and hopeful. Kumiko didn't want to lie to the puppy dog face before her.

"Everything's great," she gave him a smile. "I'm gonna go take a nap. See ya in a few hours."

Kumiko walked up to her room and heard something small, like pebbles, hitting her window. She let her bag slip down her shoulder and she took tiny steps to the window. She pushed away her lavender curtains and stared outside to find Munakata inspecting the tiny rock in his hand.

Kumiko chuckled to herself and opened the window. "Oh, Romeo. Oh, Romeo. What in the world are you doing, Romeo?" She said quietly, but loud enough for him to hear.

He looked up and smirked. "I don't believe that's how the play goes."

She shrugged. "What are you doing? What if you were hitting Tatara's window?"

"Then that would be pretty embarrassing. Are you free tomorrow?"

She rose one eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"I'll meet you here at one in the afternoon."

"What do you have planned?"

"You'll see."

"Okay...but just so you know, this won't be a date."

"Of course not. Just two good friends spending time together."

She nodded and said, "alrighty then. See you tomorrow Munakata-kun."

He waved and walked away.

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**FINISHED!  
Yeeeeaahhh again, I'm very sorry it's rushed. U_U But like I said, I WILL attempt to make the next chapter better! Also, I'm sorry the characters keep bugging Kumiko. HAHA. But hey, they just need to talk maaan. :)  
Thanks for all of the reviews/views/favorites/follows!  
**

**Ana: Thank you! You're too kind. v/w\\v**

**SilverNeira: Ah…I feel sad for them too. Hope you thought the chapter was pretty decent. owo"""**

**Kyoichi Amaya: Le gasp! Haha. I'm sorry for updating late! Hope you somewhat enjoyed this.**

**seijuro-san: Awww thanks! I'm sorry for causing you misery! Don't be sad! :) lololol**

**xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx: Thanks! And I feel bad for Mikoto as well. :)**

**Miechan-ish: LOL Tsun Mikoto. Thank you for the review! **

**juneamber: Haha! Thanks! And yeah, now that you mention it, Izumo does act like a smart butt, huh? And yes, I have read/watched Say I Love You. :) I actually didn't get my inspiration for that. But I guess it is somewhat similar. OAO; Should change it a bit?**

**ShannyHeartsYou: v/w\\v oh stop it youuuu. :) haha thanks!**

**Lolani: OMG OKAY! I SHALL GIVE YOU MORE CHAPTERS! lol :)**

**fearfulfears: Thanks! And don't worry! I'll keep writing it! **

**Sinigamichick39: OMG BLOCKHEAD MIKOTO LOL. Maybe she will in the next chapter? Who knows? Not even the author knows for sure yet. lol. And I am loving your lovely comment! Thanks!**

**HAVE A NICE DAY! :)**


	8. Not a Date

**Woah! I'm alive!  
lol Hiya!  
I AM DEEPLY SORRY for the long delay. I had writer's block for this chapter and I just COULD NOT figure out what to write. But I eventually sat down and forced myself to figure it out. Plus, after the four day weekend I had that I mentioned in the last chapter, I found out I was in the school play. Sooo, I've been staying a little longer at school **_**then **_**I come home to do homework. I could have written this fanfic during the times I'm not on stage rehearsing, but I utilized that time to get other homework/projects done. :( PLUSSS I just had my anime convention that I literally went to all day erryday. So I worked on this during my break. But then I went somewhere with no internet. Therefore, I couldn't upload it, but I still managed to finish this chapter and start the next one :3  
So yeah, now that that boring stuff about my eventful month is out of the way, ONWARD TO THE STORY!**

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**THE NEXT DAY**

Kumimko woke up groggily and rubbed at her eyes.

"Mmm…That's right…Munakata-kun and I are hanging out today," Kumiko muttered to herself. Her eyes landed on the clock and she saw that the time was 12:55 p.m. She widened her eyes and fumbled around the room for clothes, tripping many times in the process.

_Knock Knock Knock_

"Ah! N-Not decent!" Kumiko yelled as she fell to the ground trying to pull her skinny jeans up.

"It's me," Tatara said from the other side of the door. "What's going on?"

"I'm late for something! I'm getting ready right now!"

Kumiko looked around the room to check if she was forgetting anything before heading out. "Okay…Deodorant? Check. Jacket? Check. AH! Brush my teeth!" She ran out of her room, nearly hitting Tatara, and to the bathroom. She quickly brushed her teeth and hair and checked her appearance in the mirror. She wore simple, black skinny jeans and a gray sweater dress.

"Bye, Tatara! I'll be back later!"

"Wait!" He yelled, stopping her in her tracks.

"What is it?"

He looked down at the ground and shook his head. "Nevermind," he smiled. "Have fun!"

She frowned. "What's wrong?"

"You didn't see King yesterday did you?"

Her heart sank. "N-no…"

"So I guess you really are not gonna talk to him?"

"I will talk to him. Just when I'm ready, 'kay?"

"Okay."

"Why do you want me to talk to him so much anyway?"

"Because I don't like seeing you so upset. I check on you sometimes when you sleep and see tears going down your face. You usually have nightmares about him that make you scream at night. And seeing you so sad makes me sad. The only thing I can do is comfort you, but that only works to some extent."

Kumiko pulled her brother into a tight hug, much to his surprise. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for making you worry like that. I was selfish and didn't think about how you would feel," her grip tightened. "I'm so sorry…"

"Hey don't sweat it," he laughed out, trying to ease the serious atmosphere. "Just go have fun with whatever you're doing. But…what are you doing?"

She pulled away. "I'm meeting up with a friend from school to just hang out."

"Oh? Who is it?"

She poked his nose. "You're so nosy."

"Well…"

She laughed. "His name is Reisi Munakata. He's been a good friend."

"That's good. As long as you're happy!"

She smiled and waved goodbye to him. When she stepped outside, she didn't see Munakata at the place he told her to meet at. She jogged to her gate and looked around for him. She saw him on one knee petting a kitten. He was wearing a navy blue shirt that he wore a black trench jacket over. In addition, he had black pants and black sneakers. The kitten, on the other hand, was a gray, tiny creature with black, beady eyes that was barely bigger than Munakata's hand.

"How adorable," she said and kneeled next to him, taking him a bit by surprise. "I'm sorry I'm late."

He just looked at her as she cooed at the cat.

"So," she started. "What are we doing today?"

He snapped out of his reverie and pushed his glasses up. "When you're done playing with the cat, I'll show you."

She picked the small animal up in her arms and it rubbed it's head against her arm. "Aww! You are so adorable!"

Munakata subconsciously cracked a small smile as he watched her scratch the cat and giggle. He finally realized what he was doing and he pushed his glasses up once more. "We should get going."

She looked at him. "Do we have reservations to some place?"

"No."

She tilted her head and displayed a confused face. "Hm…well I guess we should go, huh? I kinda want to see what you have planned," she smiled. "Okay, little guy. I'm gonna leave now. You can come back anytime, 'kay?" Kumiko gently placed the small cat on the ground and it mewed. Munakata stood up and extended a hand to her. She took it and dusted herself off.

"Follow me," he said and started walking.

She nodded and walked beside him.

"Are you keeping this whole thing a secret until we actually get there?"

"Yes."

She pouted. "Are we eating somewhere?"

"No."

"Are we shopping somewhere?"

"No."

"Are you going to torture me?"

He looked down at her."Now why would you ask a question like that?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Why not?"

"Well the answer is obviously no. And you should try this thing called 'patience'. Heard it helps a lot."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "You're so mean."

"No not really. You're just easy to pick on."

She gave a nervous laugh. "I am aren't I? Haha."

He realized what he just said. "N-No. I didn't—"

"Hey," she interrupted him. "It's okay. Don't apologize. You've actually done no harm to me. You've been super kind and caring. And I thank you for that."

He looked at her, smirked, then closed his eyes. "Huh. So you do care for me, Totsuka-chan."

Her face went red. "N-No! Stop it! I take what I said back!"

He ruffled her hair, much to her chagrin. She swatted his hand away and he laughed. "How much do you want to know where we're going?"

"A lot! I'm not exactly fond of surprises!"

"I'll tell you where we're going if you admit that you care for me."

She puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms. "Mmmm."

"So?"

"I…I care…about you…" she said inaudibly.

"What was that?"

"I CARE ABOUT YOU! Now tell me where we're going," she said as she faced the other way.

He chuckled. "You'll see when we get there."

She whipped her head around. "Uh uh. Spit it out."

"It's a place that I used to go to when I was younger. It normally calmed me down."

"Hmm…"

Kumiko and Munakata exchanged words and shoves for the whole way. They had to take a train to get to where they were going. She still pestered him about where he was taking her, but he didn't budge. The train traveled out to what looked like a train station in a small and old town. The small town was old fashioned, but it wasn't abandoned and run down. Now this town wasn't technologically advanced like Shizume City, but there were small shops and diners within it. In one part of the town, there was a band which consisted of a viola, violin, cello, and flute playing joyous tunes that actually had people dancing with each other on the stone path.

"Is this the place that calms you down?" She laughed out as people nearly ran into her.

"No not exactly. But why not enjoy the way there?" Munakata said and grabbed one of her hands and placed a hand on her waist. He started spinning her around and jumping about like everyone else there. He laughed when he heard her laughing like a maniac and enjoyed it. Her laugh was music to his ears that sounded just as pretty as the music they were dancing to. He made sure they wouldn't run into other people as he guided her this way and that. Munakata had no idea what he was doing, but seeing a laughing and happy Kumiko was better than seeing the sad and alone Kumiko he first saw a couple of days ago.

Eventually, the music came to an end and he gave a bow as she gave a curtsy. They laughed as they continued walking throughout the small town.

"Wow," she said. "That was really fun! Where did you learn to dance like that?"

"I didn't. That was all improvisation."

She fanned herself off. "So…where are we going?"

He ignored her and she pouted.

The sound of the joyous laughter and music soon began to slowly fade as they traveled deeper into the snowy woods. He pushed some bushes out of the way and stood where he was with his arms crossed.

"This is the place?"

"Yes."

Kumiko looked at what was before her. It was a small creek that was frozen over. Around the creek was covered in patches of snow. However, tinier patches of grass could be seen peeking out from under the snow. The area was surrounded by many trees and could be very hard to find. She took in the forest clearing's beauty with wide eyes.

"This is beautiful! How did you find it?"

He plopped down on the ground. "My parents and I would come here and enjoy the sunny days. And…" he threw a small snowball at her. "On the snow days, we'd do something like that."

She wiped the snow off of her and started packing up some snow into a ball to throw at him. When she successfully made the ball, she threw it at him, but he moved out of the way. "Munakata-kun!"

He chuckled at her but was cut off when a snowball hit him square in the face. She gripped her sides and rolled on the ground, laughing.

"My glasses…" he said, capturing Kumiko's attention.

"What happened?" Kumiko worriedly asked and went closer to him.

"There's a large crack in them…"

Kumiko frowned. "I-I'm sorry. I can buy new gla—"

Munakata cut her off by gathering a pile of snow in his arms and throwing it at her.

"WHA—WHAT THE HECK MUNAKATA-KUN?!"

It was his turn to laugh. "You are very gullible, Totsuka-chan."

She scowled and started to hurl snow at him. He was able to dodge most of the snow and make his way towards her. Munakata grabbed both of her wrists to stop her. She shot her eyes open and blushed at how close his face was to hers.

"Hm? Your face is very red right now," he said.

"Mu-Muna—"

"It's quite cute."

No words could make their way past Kumiko's lips. She could only stutter out nonsense.

"Wh-What—"

Munakata chuckled and backed away. He resumed his sitting position next to Kumiko. "In all seriousness. Do you honestly care about me, Totsuka-chan?"

"I-I'm not gonna do this again."

"I don't intend to joke around."

Kumiko grumbled and brought her knees up to her chin. "You're a great friend. Why so serious all of a sudden?"

"Well, like you, I'm not too popular."

"Gee, I can't imagine why," she said sarcastically.

"Anyways, I'm glad we went on this outing today. I don't have too many friends because I'm just not skilled at making them. Everyone just believes I'm awkward," he looked at Kumiko who returned his gaze. "Thank you."

She smiled. "Thank you, too. If you hadn't kept pestering me at school, I might've been moping at home."

"What are you going to do once Suoh returns?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'll talk to him."

"Hm," Munakata mumbled and stood up, dusting himself off. He extended his hand out to Kumiko. "The ride back is fairly long. We should get going. School tomorrow."

Kumiko grumbled and laid down on the snow. "I'm good."

Munakata sighed and picked her up, making her squeal. "What the—"

"You're a stubborn girl."

She buried her face in his chest. "Shut up and put me down, idiot."

"I could do that. But you seem content with your face buried in my chest."

Her face instantly went red and she pushed on his chest. "Put me down!"

He chuckled and let her down and they began walking back to the train station. Munakata began pushing the shrubs and branches out of the way for Kumiko until they made it out of the snow-covered forest and back to the small town. The band from before was now playing slow music and all the couples from before calmed down. She noticed Munakata had stopped to the side of her. Kumiko looked to see him slightly bowed with his hand extended out to her.

"Would you care for one more dance before we leave?"

She smiled and took his hand. He placed one hand on her hip and she placed one hand on his shoulder. He may not have known what he was doing when they were dancing fast, but he sure did know what he was doing when slow dancing.

He noticed the large, girly grin on her face and asked, "enjoying yourself?"

She nodded. "We're gonna have to come back one day."

"Of course."

"We should come back in the summer, when the forest clearing's not frozen over. It'll be a whole new sight then."

"Sounds like a plan," Munakata smirked.

He extended his arm to twirl her, but the minute he did so, a wave of pain shot throughout Kumiko's left arm. She removed her right hand from his shoulder and held her elbow.

"Ouch…"

"Sorry! I forgot—"

"Hey," she interrupted him, placed a finger in front of his lips, and smirked. "It's not your fault."

"Hm. Maybe we should really get home now before you get any more injuries."

"Y-Yeah."

He noticed the trivial hint of disappointment in her voice and smirked. "We'll come back again."

"W-WHY ARE YOU SMIRKING LIKE THAT?"

"You enjoy my company."

"Can we just get home? You're making me enjoy your company less and less."

"So you _do _enjoy my company."

Kumiko sighed. "This is gonna be a long ride home…"

Before Munakata could tease her any further, her stomach made a loud rumbling noise. Even the couples dancing nearby turned their heads at the two teens.

Munakata turned his head to the side and chuckled. "Totsuka-chan, please. Control yourself."

Her face went red. "Excuse me for waking up late and missing breakfast and lunch! If you keep teasing me like this, _you're _gonna end up being my dinner."

He calmed down. "Alright, alright. Where would you like to eat?"

Kumiko checked her phone and widened her eyes at the time. "It's already 5:45!"

Munakata checked his phone as well. "Goodness it is."

"Uh…Yeah! Let's go," Kumiko said and grabbed his wrist as they headed for the train station.

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By the time Munakata and Kumiko reached the Totsuka residence, it was already 6:53. The train ride back was a quiet one. Every time Kumiko glanced at Munakata, he was staring blankly out the foggy window. It looked like he had a lot of thoughts swarming around in his head. This worried Kumiko. Maybe he was gonna break some bad news to her, too. Maybe she was just being paranoid. She didn't know. She just hoped they could remain friends. Once off the train, they began the journey back to Kumiko's house. No children or families were playing out in the snow. The only people out were joggers and people shoveling out their driveways. However, snowmen could still be seen standing with their rock eyes and carrot noses.

"Looks like we're here," Munakata said as they stood in front of Kumiko's house.

"So it seems. I'll see you tomorrow at school, Munakata-kun," she smiled. "Thank you again! I had so much fun!"

Munakata took her hand and planted a kiss to it, making her face burn up. "I thank you, too. See you tomorrow, Totsuka-chan."

He waved goodbye and vice versa. Once he was out of site, Kumiko turned around to head inside. Before she could open her gate, she whipped around when she heard footsteps. When she didn't see anything, she shook her head and went inside.

"I'm home!"

"Ah, Onee-chan! Welcome back! I just finished dinner! How was your date?"

She gave Tatara a small glare. "It wasn't a date."

"Hmm…one guy and one girl hang out for the day…by themselves. Sounds a lot like a date."

"Think what you want…"

"Do you like this person?"

"…No."

Tatara went closer to her. "You hesitated for a bit there. Could it be th—"

"No! I still—" Kumiko covered her mouth. "Ah…Nevermind. What's for dinner?"

Tatara eyed her out as she made her way past him to the kitchen. "Soup."

"Awesome! I didn't eat all day. Thanks!"

During the duration of their meal, Tatara wanted to know what happened on Kumiko's outing. She began by telling him that they had to take a train there, followed by the dancing that they did. She even set her spoon down, grabbed Tatara, and demonstrated how she and Munakata were dancing. Tatara was laughing hysterically just like how she was. They both sat down at the table again and she told him of the snow fight they had and the slow dancing they did.

"He sounds like somethin'."

"Yeah he's awesome. I'm gonna shower and get ready for bed. I'm kinda exhausted. Thank you, Tatara," she pulled him into a hug, taking him by surprise. "Thanks for everything."

She pulled back and ran upstairs to get ready for bed.

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Tatara went outside to throw away the trash. When he turned around to go back inside, he saw a familiar figure just standing outside of his home.

"K-King?! Wh-What are you doing here?!"

Mikoto simply turned his head to the shocked teen and turned his head back to the Totsuka house.

"Are you here to see Onee-chan?"

Mikoto didn't reply. Tatara opened the gate, allowing Mikoto to step in their yard.

"She might kill me for doing this, or she might love me for this," Tatara said and motioned for Mikoto in the house. Mikoto hesitantly walked inside, not like how he normally invites himself inside, and leaned against the doorframe.

"Uh…hold on," Tatara said and ran up the stairs.

Mikoto heard him knocking on a door, followed by the sound of mild arguing.

"Onee-chan! Can I come in?"

He could barely hear the reply, but Mikoto was able to piece together what Kumiko was saying. "What do you need?"

Tatara began pulling on Kumiko's arm.

"Hey! Why are you pulling me like this?" Kumiko yelled.

"Less talking!"

"Just tell me what you're doing!"

"Geez, hurry up!"

"Tatara! You better tell me right now what in the wor—" Kumiko's eyes landed on the tall, red-head leaning against the front door. "Hey…"

He simply looked at her.

"Well I'm done with cleaning the kitchen. I'm gonna get ready for bed," he pat Kumiko on the shoulder. "Your turn to make breakfast tomorrow."

Tatara had started to his room, leaving Kumiko and Mikoto alone in the living room.

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**PHEW! DONE!  
Welp, I hope this chapter was okay! If there are still things that bug you about this chapter/story, don't be afraid to inform me about it. I'll take the correction and apply it! If it seems necessary that is. :)**

**Kyoichi Amaya: lol! Jealous Mikoto is jealous. Glad I could make you happay! I am deeply sorry you didn't get to read this chapter "soon." :(**

**seijuro-san: Ah! I'm glad my story makes you happy! Your comment made me happy! :D I hope you found this chapter enjoyable :3 Sorry Mikoto came at the end though. :\**

**xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx: Well they didn't exactly talk in this chapter. Just made eye contact. lol Thank you for your great review! :D**

**Guest: lol Munakata love. I know how you feel, I was actually rooting for Munakata and Kumiko. But I had to restrain myself from changing it to a Munakata x OC story. Lol**

**SilverNeira: It seems like everyone's happy that Mikoto's jealous. Haha. Thank you for your review! :D**

**PinkIsManly1: YAYYY! I love your name so much! Lol ((hugs back)) Sorry for the late update v_v**

**juneamber: What up! Haha. Yeah, I understand what you're saying. About it being rushed because of lack of imagery. I thought that as well. One day I'll check errythang and edit the little mistakes. And thanks for the tip! No, thanks for the whole review! :D**

**StoryReader888: haha! Here's the next chapter you've been wanting to read. :) Hope you liked it!**

**AnaPernett: Oh my goodness thank you SO MUCH! Haha! I need all the luck in the world. Orz**

**Shigure-Senseii: Thank you! I love them, too. :3**

**UNICORNSPOORAINBOWS: She sure did. :3 I just see Munakata being a smart-butt-sarcastic kinda guy. :)**

**Valoja: Wowza big review! :D But Suoh tis his last name :3. Maybe he and Munakata did go to the same school, who knows? Just let season 2 come out already so we can learn more about the characters. Icantwaitanylongeromg D:. lol! Sex scene. I did not expect that request, even though you were jk. :) I'd feel to awkward writing it. O.o I'm such a Yata like I'd be blushing while writing it. **

**Sara404: Hello new reader! Glad you like it so far. :) And maybe their relationship will last? Who knows? (; And I do have something planned (kinda) for future interactions with Munakata and Mikoto regarding Kumiko. :3**

**SmileRen: I know that feel. I don't like Noemi either. :3 Even though she is an OC. Even the author dislikes her. Don't worry :3 But I was thinking of putting Seri in it. Just cause I didn't want too many OCs running around. But a female friend for Kumiko won't come right away. I have to figure out how to put her in the story without making the story seem too choppy. So eventually Kumiko will have a female friend. :)**

**THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS/FAVORITES/FOLLOWS/VIEWS**


	9. Can't Stay Away

**HIII!  
****This is the part where you guys can harass me for not updating in a while. lol. I think, though, that I can update more often. My play is over and so are my two research papers. The only thing in the way right now are finals. TTATT; But here is another chapter of Don't Leave. My feelings towards this chapter are...eh. So just tell me how you gaize feel after reading it. Plus! I might be editing some stuff in the story to fit K Project. TTATT So just to let you know.**

**Mah best friend is actually on fanfiction as well. She's "Maci-loves-Kakashi" and she has one Naruto fanfic. It sounds pretty interesting even though she's just got a few chapters in. So go support her as well!**

**ON TO ZE STORY!**

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Tatara had started to his room, leaving Kumiko and Mikoto alone in the living room. She thought some of her time with Munakata that day was awkward. But it couldn't compare to the awkward silence right now between her and Mikoto. Kumiko looked around and rubbed her left arm, trying to figure out what to say to him. When she was rubbing her arm, Mikoto noticed that her elbow was wrapped in a bandage.

"What happened to your arm?"

"Ah-Uh-gym class," she laughed out.

"Hn."

Awkward silence shrouded the atmosphere once again. Mikoto walked to the couch and slouched; elbows and head resting on the head of the couch. "How's school?"

She began inching her way closer to the couch. She awkwardly sat on the arm and messed with her hands. She didn't exactly want to look at him right now. "It's...it's school. Nothing new."

"Has anyone picked on you?"

Kumiko was confused as to why Mikoto would ask her these questions. "A little. But I've just ignored it."

Mikoto clenched and unclenched his fists, unbeknownst to Kumiko.

"Suoh...san," Kumiko hesitantly said and shakily switched her gaze to him. Mikoto tensed at the formalities. "Aha...sorry. This 'stranger' thing is harder to do than it seems. Anyways, um...why are you here?"

"You and your friend seem to be doing fine," Mikoto blurted out, making Kumiko freeze.

"Yeah. He's...nice."

"You guys went out today?" Mikoto asked.

Kumiko looked at Mikoto. "How did you...?"

He sighed. "Lucky guess."

Kumiko remembered she heard footsteps when Munakata left. "Was that you I heard walking by?"

"Don't know what you're talking about."

She furrowed her eye brows. "Nevermind..._Anyways, _you didn't answer my question. Why are you here?"

"Reisi Munakata...that's his name, right?"

"Jealousy...that's yours, right?" Kumiko countered.

Mikoto glared at her. His hard glare made her feel slightly uneasy, but she stood her ground.

"He a better guy than me?"

Kumiko's heart sank. "I...don't...know."

"Ah. Well, see you at school," Mikoto lazily said and got up to leave.

Kumiko moved on impulse and grabbed his wrist. She wrapped her arms around him from behind and squeezed him close. "Please don't go again! Please...please..."

She squeezed her eyes shut, tears pushing at the corners of her eyes. She felt Mikoto turn around and cup her cheek. He lifted her rosy face up.

"Kumiko."

She slowly opened one eye, followed by the other eye. Her breath caught in her throat when she locked eyes with him. She saw him cautiously leaning closer and she froze. He traveled his fingers on her cheek through her silky locks, and brought her face closer to his. Their foreheads touched, followed by their noses brushing against each other. She bit her lip and looked down. Mikoto sighed and placed a knuckle under her chin, forcing her to look back at him. He didn't hesitate this time into leaning forward and locking lips with her. Kumiko made a squeak and widened her eyes. She placed her hands on his chest and gripped his shirt out of nervousness as she squeezed her eyes shut again. This was her first kiss, so she was completely clueless on what to do.

Mikoto broke the kiss, only for oxygen. He stared at her completely flushed face and gently pushed her to sit on the couch. He followed, slowly crawling closer to her face again. She kept backing up until her back met with the pillows on the couch. She looked up at him hovering over her, his face coming closer to hers. Mikoto kissed her again, this time, much harder. He grasped the sides of her hips and dug his fingers in her side, making her gasp. He used that opportunity to bring her tongue in a battle with his. Her hands found their way to his chest again and she gripped his shirt even tighter. Mikoto pulled away and trailed kisses down her neck, making her shiver. He gently took some of the flesh on her neck between his teeth and nibbled at it, causing her to emit a tiny moan.

That small sound from Kumiko drove him mad. The couple of days away from her tore him apart, and Mikoto couldn't get enough of the girl lying beneath him.

He wanted to _hear_ more of her.

He wanted to _see_ more of her.

He just wanted _her_.

"Stop," a completely flustered and breathless Kumiko said.

He ghosted his lips lower and showered her collarbone with kisses. He threw his jacket on the ground. Kumiko heard him attempting to undress himself and she cracked her eyes open. She grasped his wrists before he could lift his shirt any further.

"Mikoto...stop."

He rest his forehead on her collarbone and clenched his fists before bringing his head back up to look at her. Her face was beyond red and her eyes had a pleading look in them. He lowered his head again to give her one last kiss.

"I'm sorry," he said in between kisses. After the final kiss, he put his forehead against hers. It took all of his strength to force himself to stop. Since he's not too good with words when it comes to Kumiko, Mikoto wanted to show her how sorry he was through his actions.

She hummed in response and cracked a small smile.

He sat up and swiftly picked her up like he always does; one hand under her back, the other under her knees.

"H-Hey!"

Mikoto looked down at her and she moved her gaze to the ground. He smirked and walked upstairs to Kumiko's room. Once in her room, he gently laid her down on her bed and sat on the side.

"Can I visit you tomorrow?" Kumiko asked drowsily and rubbed at her eyes.

"Hn," Mikoto smirked. "Yeah."

Kumiko smiled. "Yay."

Mikoto observed Kumiko as her brown orbs opened and closed. Finally, they closed for the night and Kumiko was fast asleep. He placed a hand on her cheek and stroked it with his thumb. He took in her sleeping face for a while longer before standing up to leave.

"Onee-chan!" Tatara yelled before walking into her room. When he saw her sleeping he slapped his hand over his mouth. Fortunately, Kumiko didn't stir. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah."

Tatara went to sit on the edge of Kumiko's bed. "She was a wreck Thursday night. She's also been having nightmares almost every time she sleeps. All of a sudden, I would hear screaming in the middle of the night. It was actually kind of scary," he nervously laughed out the last sentence.

Mikoto stared at Kumiko and gave her one last, long kiss to the cheek, taking Tatara by surprise.

"Ah-Are you and Onee-chan...?" He trailed off with a hopeful smile.

Mikoto sighed and walked downstairs and out the door.

Tatara kept smiling and placed a blanket over Kumiko. "I hope you're okay now."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**THE NEXT MORNING**

"Ohayo~!" Tatara yelled as he opened Kumiko's door. "Wake up~!"

Kumiko mumbled and rolled over.

Tatara sighed and put his hands on his hips. "If you don't wake up, I'll bring King upstairs~."

Kumiko shot up out of bed and looked at her brother. "Is he here?"

Tatara laughed. "Nope. I just didn't want to have to wake you up using cold water."

Kumiko gave him a small glare and got out of bed and went downstairs to prepare breakfast. Tatara's eyes sparkled when he saw that she had whipped out the pancake batter and chocolate chips. While they were waiting for the pancakes, Tatara wanted to ask Kumiko about what happened with Mikoto.

"So...are you and King...?"

She smiled. "We're okay."

"What happened last night?" He smirked. "Or is it too R rated for your younger brother to know?"

Her face went red and she threw the pancake box at him. "When you get a boyfriend, I'm gonna tease you too."

"Ah so you and Ki-WAIT WHAT?"

Kumiko stirred the batter. "Oh nothing."

Tatara grumbled and rest his head on his hand. "What happened last night?"

"At first it was awkward because we weren't really saying anything. But eventually, we started talking a little. He wanted to know about Munakata-kun and school," she smiled. "As if he was worried the whole time. Mikoto was about to leave but I stopped him. Then he...he...kissed...me..." she blushed and looked at nothing in particular. "Over and over..."

"That's great, Onee-chan!"

She blushed and served Tatara his pancakes. "Y-Yeah. I'm also gonna visit him today. So I might come home a bit late."

"Visit...him?"

"Oh, well...he got suspended...hehe."

"What?! For what?!"

"He beat some of our classmates up..."

She saw Tatara with his jaw dropped and wide eyes, so she continued. "Our classmates were teasing me and he lost control."

"When does he go back?"

"Thursday."

"Woah...King is so cool!"

Kumiko laughed and cleaned their dishes up. After that, she did her normal school routine of getting ready: shower, brush hair and teeth, and change. She yelled out to Tatara that she was leaving.

"Wait!" He yelled as he quickly descended the stairs, adjusting his tie. "Can I walk with you today?"

She gave him a confused look. "Why? What do you want?"

"Can't I just walk with you?"

She sighed. "Okay."

Tatara smiled and ran to her side out the door. When they finished locking the door, they turned around and saw Mikoto leaning against their fence.

"King!"

"Mikoto, what are you doing here?"

"Let's go," he said.

Kumiko and Tatara looked at each other and just shrugged their shoulders. When they walked past the fence, they heard a small meow. Behind them, the same tiny, gray kitten from the day before was sitting on the ground, looking up at them with big eyes.

"It's you again," Kumiko said with a smile and kneeled by the kitten. It happily purred when it felt Kumiko petting it.

"Who's that?" Tatara asked and kneeled by the kitten as well.

"I don't know. I just saw him yesterday."

"If he comes back again, let's keep him!"

Kumiko nodded. "Okay. Let's just get to school now."

It was Tatara's turn to nod. They both stood up and began walking, Mikoto walking by their side.

"King! Kumiko was telling me that you're suspended because you beat up guys who were making fun of her. So cool! I approve of the relationship!"

Kumiko blushed and Mikoto just looked at him. "T-Tatara! You're such an idiot!"

Tatara chuckled, but soon went serious. "So why were you being teased?"

"For...reasons."

"Tell me! King," he looked at Mikoto. "Why was she being teased?!"

"Everyone thought we were sleeping together."

Kumiko blushed and hit Mikoto on the arm. "Baka Mikoto!"

Tatara blushed as well. "Wh-Why would people think that?!"

"Be-Because when Mikoto would come to visit me when I was at home, everyone thought he was coming over to-"

"Okay! Stop!" Tatara yelled and put his hands over his ears. "I understand."

Kumiko laughed while Mikoto smirked.

"But now, I think you're even more cool! Standing up for someone you care about!"

Mikoto furrowed his eyebrows and sighed.

So for the duration of the walk, Tatara babbled on about anything on end. Mikoto was doing his best to contain his anger. He had walked to Kumiko's house, hoping to walk with Kumiko alone. But of course, the day he decides to do so, Tatara wants to tag along. Kumiko noticed Mikoto seemed a bit cranky. So while her younger brother was talking, she grabbed Mikoto's hand. He looked at her and saw she was blushing like crazy, just from holding hands. He was starting to think his actions last night might've been a little overwhelming. Mikoto didn't know if he was the first person Kumiko liked, but she was definitely the first person he liked. So, he was going to do his best to make her happy. And he was going to start by accepting her gesture and hold her hand back.

On the way there, they saw that the snow was beginning to melt. The park that they always pass on their way to school was barely covered in snow now that spring was approaching. They passed by the alleyway where Kumiko was attacked, causing the girl to cling on Mikoto even more. Down the alleyway, there were about seven guys smoking and hanging out. Three of them looked _very _familiar to the three teens. The only different thing about their appearance was that most of their heads were bandaged up.

Kumiko pulled on Mikoto's shirt and grabbed Tatara by the wrist.

"Wah-Are you okay?" Tatara asked.

"Yeah. Just don't want to be late is all," she smiled.

"But it's only 7:00."

"Don't want you to be late!"

Tatara observed her with worried eyes and decided not to ask her anymore questions.

They arrived to Kumiko's school first where all the students saw the said girl and Mikoto together. They began whispering and looking at the two.

"Okay," Kumiko said and smiled at the two. "See you two later!"

She began walking off, but Mikoto grabbed her by the wrist, spun her around, and kissed her cheek.

"Bye," he plainly said.

She blushed and nodded to them before walking on school grounds.

"How cute," some students in her class said. They had all arrived just in time to see Mikoto's kiss. They went up to Kumiko and started teasing her, but not in a joking way. They started making kissy faces and calling her names as usual.

"Who was that other boy with you, huh?" One of her classmates asked and shoved her.

"Probably Boyfriend Number Two."

Tatara and Mikoto had just begun to leave until they heard that remark.

"He looks a little young for you Kumiko-chan."

"Maybe she's into the whole shota-con thing," someone said, causing the group harassing Kumiko to laugh.

Tatara asked Mikoto to watch his bag as he approached the group. "Leave her alone," Tatara said.

Everyone turned around, even Kumiko. "Woah, Little Shota's here. And he's protecting his whore."

"Do not talk about _my sister _like that."

"Oh, excuse us. We didn't know," one of them said mockingly.

"Why do you do this?" Tatara asked. "Teasing an innocent person like this? Do you think it'll make you feel better about yourselves? If anything's troubling you guys, don't take it out on someone through bullying. Tell someone about it."

"Is the same thing troubling me, troubling you guys too?" the same one asked. They all smirked and looked at Tatara. Kumiko saw this and mouthed to her brother, "run."

Before he could process what Kumiko had mouthed, the ones messing with Kumiko had gone for Tatara and started dragging him behind the large tree in front of the school, where Kumiko and Mikoto eat sometimes. Kumiko ran up to them and tried to pull them apart from Tatara. Two of them had held Kumiko by her arms, forcing her to watch. They threw Tatara against the large tree and took turns punching him in the face, stomach-everywhere. He slid down the tree, allowing him to be low enough for them to stomp their foots on him. Kumiko squirmed and tried kicking at the ones holding her, but they were tough. Mikoto couldn't risk being caught on campus, but that didn't stop him from sighing and walking to the ones picking on the siblings. One of the bullies was going in for another punch to Tatara's stomach, but Mikoto grabbed his fist and started to crush it.

"C-Crap!"

"Dammit! Suoh-kun actually came on campus!"

They all yelled other things as they fled the scene. Kumiko knelt down by Tatara and placed a hand over her mouth. Blood was spilling from his mouth, his left cheek was beginning to bruise, he was holding his stomach in immense pain, and he was gripping his right eye in pain as well. In addition, he kept going in and out of consciousness.

"Tatara...you idiot," Kumiko said and draped his arm over her shoulder and stood up.

He softly chuckled and did his best to smile at her. "Hey, don't sweat it. It'll all work out somehow."

She looked at him with sad, watery eyes and started walking to a hospital. The nearest hospital was down the road. All of a sudden, she felt Tatara getting lighter and lighter.

"Ow! My ribs," Tatara groaned.

Mikoto hoisted the boy over his shoulder. "You're gonna be late," he said.

"But I need to take Ta-"

Mikoto cut her off with a kiss. "Get to class."

She blushed and stuttered out, "B-B-But-"

Tatara smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "I'm fine. King's got this one!"

She looked at them and waved goodbye.

She kept glancing back every once in a while. She saw that Tatara's cheerful face had disappeared and twisted into one of great pain. Mikoto stopped where he was and turned around, just to see if Kumiko had gone off to class. When he turned to see Kumiko just standing there, she quickly whipped her head around and went to class.

When she got to class, there was a pile of notes on her desk. She trudged over to her desk and opened up one note. When she saw that it was a phone number, she decided to just throw away all of the other notes on her desk. Kumiko sat down, put her head on her hand, and just stared at the hint of sun peaking through the clouds.

"Totsuka-chan," a deep voice said in front of Kumiko.

She knew that voice well enough and she smiled. "Munakata-kun."

He pulled up a chair and sat in front of her. She turned her head to look at him and said, "hiya."

"What were those pieces of paper you were throwing away?"

"Nothing. Just...notes."

He observed her appearance and noticed she looked worried. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes...and no. Some guys in our grade beat Tatara up. I'm really worried. I was gonna take him to the hospital, but-"

"'But' what?"

"Well that's the 'okay' part. I talked to Mikoto last night and we're okay now. He went to take Tatara to the hospital. But that still won't shake this worried feeling I have."

Munakata furrowed his eye brows and looked out the window.

"Munakata-kun? Are you okay-"

"Good morning, class! Let's get started."

Munakata stood up, put his chair back where it was and told her, "I'm fine."

She watched him exit the classroom. '_Did I say something_?'

"Class, before we get started, I have some news," Mr. Sato announced. "After the spring break, I will no longer be your teacher."

The class was filled with sounds of disappointment.

"I have family issues that I must tend to. You're teacher next school year will be Honami Kushina. So, next week Friday, when Suoh-san is back, let's have a class party at the end of the day, alright?"

The class cheered and Kumiko swore she heard someone say, "why do we have to wait for Suoh-kun?"

"Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's do attendance."

Mr. Sato carried on with the attendance as normal. Once he had finished, he began the day by teaching math. The day went on like any normal day. When Mr. Sato would turn around to write something on the board, Kumiko would feel pieces of paper hitting her head. She tried to brush it off and pay attention to Mr. Sato. He gave the class some practice problems to do. After about five minutes of allowing the class to work on it independently, he would ask someone to come up and write out how they did it.

"Totsuka-san," he called out. "Can you please come up and do problem three please?"

Kumiko nodded and slowly walked up with her notebook.

Mr. Sato observed her work and gave her a smile. "Excellent work. But the simplified form needs a little fixing up."

Kumiko looked over her work again and caught her mistake. "Thank you," she smiled and took her seat once again.

She looked out the window and watched as the sun started to peak through the clouds and slightly brighten the dark class room. From her seat, she could spot a hospital not too far from school. She tried her best to concentrate in class, but her mind kept switching to Tatara's well being.

"Please get out your English notebooks and start answering the writing prompt on the board."

Everyone did as they were told and began writing. Except Kumiko. She can be a good student when she wants to. But her attention span hinders her in her work. She'll just scribble something down on paper to start thinking, but time will fly by and her little scribbles would turn into a full out drawing. Like now, for example. She began by drawing lines and circles, but eventually, those lines and circles somehow turned into a sheep and a bunny rabbit. She snapped out of her drawing and decided to answer the prompt. Until...

"Alright, go enjoy your lunches!"

Kumiko stared at her paper with wide eyes and just closed her book. She was gonna go visit Tatara.

She rushed out the door and out to the front of the school. Before she could reach the school gates, Kumiko heard her phone go off in her sweater pocket.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey," a deep voice grumbled on the other line.

"Mikoto," she smiled. Her smile soon faded. "How's Tatara?"

"Fine. I'm here now."

"I'll be on my way. Tell him to hang in there."

"Wait," Mikoto interrupted.

"What?"

"Stay until school ends. He even said himself. He wants you to finish the day first."

"Put him on the phone."

Tatara could hear her panic-stricken voice on the other end of the line and held his hand out for the phone. Mikoto gave it to him and he weakly said, "Onee...chan."

"Tatara! I'm on my way so do-"

"Onee-chan...stay at school."

'_He sounds so weak_,' Kumiko thought. "Are you sure?"

He smiled. "Mhm. I'll be fine."

Mikoto snatched the phone out of Tatara's hands. "I'll be there after."

Despite the gloomy situation, Kumiko smiled when she heard Mikoto's voice. "Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

She heard nothing but the dial tone on the other end and snapped her phone shut. Kumiko trudged to the area behind the school where no one would bother her. She slid down the wall and opened her lunch. Kumiko took small nibbles of her food, not really in the mood for eating.

_Mrow_

Kumiko snapped her head up and saw the same dark gray kitten by her house now sitting in front of her with bright eyes. It took tiny steps towards Kumiko and sniffed the sashimi in her bento. She gave him a small piece and he licked it a couple of times before taking the food in its mouth. Within a matter of seconds, the piece of fish was devoured completely by the kitten. Kumiko placed the whole bento in front of the animal and he began inhaling the food.

She pet the cat. "Slow down little guy."

It didn't even look up to meow. The kitten was busy eating at the moment to care what went on around it. However, his bites became slower and slower and eventually, the animal was licking its mouth in content before it went to Kumiko's side and plopped down. She scratched behind its ears and it rubbed it's head in her hands.

"So this is where you went."

Kumiko looked up and saw Munakata with his arms crossed. He made his way to sit next to her. Before he could sit down, he noticed the dark gray ball of fur sleeping at Kumiko's side. She followed his gaze and said, "look who I found."

"Did you bring it to school?"

"No. He just kind of appeared now."

He smiled and sat down next to Kumiko. "There's a small festival in Shizume City. Streets are being closed down, there's going to be music and food. It starts right after school. Will you come with me?"

Kumiko frowned. "My brother's in the hospital and I was going to visit him."

"Would you like an escort there?"

She gave him a sad smile. "Mikoto was gonna pick me up and take me there."

"Ah. I see."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry too much about it," he looked at his watch. "We should get going to class."

He extended his hand out to her and she took it to stand up. Startled, the kitten leaning against her slightly stumbled backwards as his support left him. She apologized to it and pet it before leaving to class.

The walk back to the second years' floor was a silent one. Neither Munakata nor Kumiko spoke one word to each other. Eventually, Munakata spoke up and asked, "are you staying at school on Friday night for the study session for exams?"

Kumiko grumbled. "I forgot about that. Yeah I guess."

"Do you want to be in my group during the session?"

She smiled and nodded. "Sure."

"Great. See you later," he waved and walked to his class room.

Kumiko walked to her desk and pulled out her phone.

"_How is he?_" Kumiko texted Mikoto.

It took him about two minutes to text back, "_sleeping_."

"Take your seats! We will begin."

"_Gotta go_," she texted him back. "_See you later :)_"

The rest of the day was just like any other: boring and tiresome. But, when science came around, the students ended up doing a fun lab and ended up making cookies using their Bunsen burner and other ingredients as provided by the teacher. Kumiko was excited as could be to make cookies. But there was always a catch to a fun lab. Mr. Sato just didn't explain what it was.

"Umm, Totsuka-san. Since you currently do not have a partner, you will be paired up with Kunogi-san, okay?"

"Yes, sensei," Kumiko said and walked to her lab counter.

Iris Kunogi was one of the shy girls in the class that Kumiko never really talked to. She had dark brown hair which was short and slightly unkempt. She sported swirly bottle glasses that hid her blank, green eyes. She was also much taller than Kumiko. While Kumiko stood at 5' 4", Iris stood at 6' 2".

"Kunogi-san, can you pass me the unsweetened cocoa powder?"

"Okay," she softly said and handed Kumiko the powder.

Kumiko noticed that she had a hint of an accent when she spoke. "Kunogi-san."

"Y-yes?"

"Where are you from? You have a small accent."

"I've lived in Australia for eight years...then I moved here."

"That's so cool," Kumiko gave her a gentle smile. "Okay! We can now put this beaker over the Bunsen burner!"

"T-Totsuka-san," Iris pushed her glasses up very timidly. "Are...are you okay?"

Kumiko looked at her and tilted her head in question. "What do you mean?"

"Sorry, it's just that people keep...teasing you about Suoh-kun..."

Kumiko smiled and went back to observing the beaker. "I'm okay now. Nothing really bothers me anymore."

"When does Suoh-kun come back?"

"Thursday," she subconsciously smiled.

"That's good. You'll finally get to see him. You seemed pretty upset and not as happy when he was absent."

"Some other stuff happened between us after school. So that's why I was upset. But we're okay now."

"T-Totsuka-san!"

"Hmm?"

"Th-the ingredients are bubbling now! Like...it looks like it's going to bubble over!"

"Ah!" Kumiko grabbed the beaker tongs and carefully placed the beaker on the counter. "That was close," she sighed.

"Suoh-kun is taking over your mind," she laughed.

"He is isn't he?"

"It's not a bad thing. I hope you guys last a long time."

Kumiko whipped her head up and stared at Iris with wide eyes. "Th-thank you, Kunogi-san. That means a lot, actually."

"Iris."

"Kumiko."

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**HOURS LATER **

Mr. Sato held up papers in his hand. "So it's Monday. Remember what I said we'd do on Monday?" He looked at the first paper and called that person up front.

It took about thirty minutes to finish everyone's readings. The reason being was because many were humorous, most were not taken seriously, and other poems were tear jerking. So it wasn't just simple read throughs. Because many students chose to write about personal experiences, they tried to hold back tears as they read, which proved to be difficult to some. As a result of those being funny, the presenters and the class couldn't hold in their laughter.

"Totsuka-san," Mr. Sato called.

Everyone stared at her with judging gazes as she shyly made her way up to the front of the class.

She cleared her throat and began...

_Where did it go?_

_My happiness._

_I have looked everywhere for it._

_I walked the snowy path we walked together,_

_But all I could see were the memories _

_That would live in my heart forever._

_I went to the abandoned school ground,_

_Where it could not be found._

_Only the time where you juggled my heart_

_And let it drop and shatter apart._

_But I did not find my happiness._

_I went over to the tree where we sat,_

_Where you told me you loved me._

_I was sure this is where my happiness was at._

_It was not there._

_I thought deeper and deeper about where it could be._

_Could it be running somewhere silly and free?_

_Then I remembered._

_The last time my happiness was true,_

_Was when I was with you._

"Good job, Totsuka-san," Mr. Sato smiled. "Alright class, clean up and go home."

Everyone rushed outside to do the chores outside instead of in the classroom with Kumiko. The said girl chuckled and slowly started to clean the windows.

"Do you need help?"

Kumiko looked to her right and saw Iris looking down with a friendly smile. She nodded and said, "that'd be nice."

They cleaned the classroom in silence. Kumiko looked out the window and saw a figure leaning against the school gate. Her face brightened up and she said, "Mikoto!"

Iris looked at her as she sped up her cleaning process. Kumiko was done in about one minute. She grabbed her bag and rushed out of the classroom.

"Kumiko-chan! Wait!" Iris shouted.

Kumiko couldn't hear her and just kept running down the hallway. Someone stepped out of their classroom, causing Kumiko to crash into that person and make both of them fall to the ground.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Kumiko swiftly stood up and bowed.

"Totsuka-chan, please try to be more careful."

Kumiko looked at the boy standing up and saw that it was Munakata adjusting his glasses.

"Ah...sorry."

"Kumiko-chan!"

The said girl turned around and saw Iris running and waving to her.

"Oh," Iris stuttered. "Hello...Munakata-san."

Munakata nodded and smiled in response. "Kunogi-san. Shall we all go home?"

They nodded and walked outside.

Mikoto spotted the brunette walking out and smirked. However, his smirk morphed into a scowl when he saw Munakata walking beside her. Laughing with her.

Her eyes landed on Mikoto and she bid her friends a farewell. She hugged Mikoto and smiled. Mikoto kissed her forehead and rest his chin on her head. Munakata walked by and Mikoto glared daggers into him while Munakata just stared at him with a look of disdain, unbeknownst to Kumiko. Iris, however, noticed this and shuddered at the tension before rushing out of the scene. Munakata followed soon after.

Mikoto and Kumiko pulled apart. "Ready to see your brother?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**All done! I hope you guys liked it. :3 And hooray! They're actually an item. :P I actually wrote that poem Kumiko read in...8th grade for school. It was inspired from another poem I read. I honestly can't remember which poem. U.U; But I used my poem and just twisted some of the words to make it more fitting to Kumiko's situation. Even though some of the words in it were still the same. I also just recently did a lab similar to Kumiko not too long ago to learn limiting reagents. Yeah.**

**Sarah404: Wassup?! Here is the chapter you've been wanting to read! But there shall be more Mikoto and Munakata interactions. Yeah. THANKS FOR LE REVIEW!**

**SmileRen: Thanks for providing me with ideas! Iris is now in the story. :) I hope I wrote her fine. oAo; If there could be any touch ups to her, let me know. I don't want to squish everything about her in one chapter. You know? I'll gradually put in other stuff about her.**

**xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx: I hope you enjoyed the chapter :) thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Kyoichi Amaya: I hope you liked this chapter, too! It definitely was awkward**

**RenSachiro: I'm sorry for not updating ;A; But I hope you liked it!**

**Maya095: I'm...glad my story...made you spazzzzz. loliguess. Thanks for reading! But here is the chapter you wanted to read! Well, I hope you liked it!**

**Miechan-ish: I know! I hate cliffhangers! Even though I seem to put them as well. oAo; Glad to know you ship Mikoto and Kumiko. LOL**

**OtakuWriter5441: Here ya go! hehe Hope you liked this chapter**

**Gu- nothing D: Sorry you waited even longer. :( But thank you for the kind words! I'm happy I inspired you to fabricate some ideas. I think you'd be able to write a lovely**

**fan fiction! Just keep trying. :)**

**vivvy09: Welp, here is the next chapter! Thank you for your review!**

**PurePrincess: Do you think so? I feel like I'm running out of ideas. OAO; But I hope you were happy with the chapter! Thank you!**

**JYoon: Thank you! I'm glad it can engage readers! Kudos to you as a reader! :D God Bles! :D**

**Mitaan: Oh no! Don't cry yourself to sleep! I promise I'll NEVER delete this. It seems to be doing fine. :) I'll keep updating until the very end. :)**

**Thank you for every review/follow/favorite/view! And credit to SmileRen for Iris! :) **


	10. Alone-ish

**Hey! Tis D1N0 and I'm on summer break! :) Ergo, my updates shall be a whole lot quicker (yay!) Enough from me, enjoy the tenth chapter! Yay we made it to double digits and I didn't give up. :)**

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"Ready to see your brother?" Mikoto asked.

Kumiko nodded. "Yeah."

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"Y'know, there is a shred of hope for our class," Kumiko told Mikoto.

Currently, Kumiko and Mikoto were walking down the bustling streets to the hospital Tatara was staying in.

Mikoto scoffed. "Since when did you start to like the class?"

"Well...just one person."

Mikoto's ears perked and he looked down at Kumiko.

"The girl I was walking with today is really nice. She's very...supportive?"

"You were walking with a girl today?"

Kumiko slapped her hand to her head. "Yes, Mikoto. I was. Her name is Iris Kunogi."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. She's probably the only one that's not a bully. I don't know."

"Hn."

"Mr. Sato's leaving next school year as well."

"Oh? Why?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Family issues."

They arrived at the hospital and Mikoto led her to Tatara's room. Kumiko slowly and quietly opened the door. She peeked in and saw his bruised and bandaged form looking out the window. Once she and Mikoto were in the room, Kumiko closed the door and Tatara turned his head and smiled brightly.

"Onee-chan! King!" Tatara said as excitedly as he could.

Kumiko returned the smile and pulled up a chair to sit by him, Mikoto soon following after. Now that she was closer to Tatara and had a better view of his injuries, Kumiko's smile disappeared and she frowned. Within a couple of hours, his right eye managed to turn completely swollen and purple. Just like the previous month, Tatara's head had a bandage wrapped around his head like a headband. His shirt was lifted just enough for Kumiko to spot a white material covering his stomach. She gently moved his hand and pushed his shirt up to see his stomach wrapped in bandages. To top it off, purplish-blue bruises made up most of the color of his fair skin.

Tatara noticed her worried expression and gave a small smile. "Hey, don't sweat—"

"Don't you finish that sentence, Tatara," Kumiko started.

"Sorry..." he whispered.

"I'm not mad at you. It's just obvious that you're not okay. And it's okay to tell me how you really feel, y'know."

"I'm fine!" He smiled again. "But...I have to stay in the hospital for two nights."

She frowned and looked down so Tatara couldn't see her face. His smile faded and he asked, "are you crying, Onee-chan?"

She shook her head.

"Then say something."

"I have to cook again."

Tatara tilted his head in confusion and asked, "what?"

She looked up at him again and gave him a small shove. "You were supposed to cook tonight."

They both laughed and continued to mess with each other. Mikoto looked at the two and chuckled, stopping them in their pokes and shoves and turning to look at him, forgetting that he was also present.

"Oh, King! I have something to ask of you!"

"Hn?" Mikoto and Kumiko looked at him.

"Since I'm not going to be there and our family is constantly busy—"

Knowing where this was going, Kumiko gave the younger teen a small glare. "Tatara—"

"Could you—"

"Tatara—"

"Stay with Onee-chan and just watch over her?"

Her face went red at the thought of Mikoto spending the night, twice.

"Ah...I guess."

"M-Mikoto," Kumiko stuttered out. "That's really not...not necessary!"

"It's tonight and tomorrow, right?" Mikoto asked, completely ignoring the flustered girl.

"No! I'm fine."

"Yup! I'll be back home on Wednesday!"

Kumiko released a frustrated sigh and rest her forehead on her right palm. "You give me such a headache, Tatara."

"Oh you have a headache? Maybe you should go home and King can take care of it for you!"

"W-Wait—"

"Wow, look at the time," Tatara said and looked at the clock on his wall. "It's getting pretty late! See you tomorrow! I'm in perfectly good hands here!"

"B-B-But I—"

"You're not trying to avoid me are you?" Mikoto asked.

Kumiko blushed and turned her head in Mikoto's direction. "I'm—I'm not! I'm just—"

Tatara gave her a light punch to the arm. "I'm okay. Really. And I'm kind of tired. You must be pretty tired too, huh?"

Kumiko puffed her cheeks to hold in her yawn and she shook her head.

Tatara chuckled and dozed off. "Goodnight, Onee-chan."

She sighed when he fell asleep. Kumiko stood up and said, "I-I guess we should go...then."

"Yeah."

She stood up, ruffled Tatara's hair, and walked outside. Mikoto, however, looked at him and saw that his eyes were slightly opened. He chuckled and followed Kumiko outside.

"So—"

"Mikoto," Kumiko warned him.

He smirked at the sight of her cherry red face.

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They arrived back to the Totsuka residence in complete silence. None of them spoke one word to the other. Kumiko unlocked the door, rushed inside, and quickly said, "thanks for walking me home! Bye!"

She made the move to swiftly shut the door, but Mikoto stuck his arm out and held the door open. He managed to easily prop the door open and walk inside. He closed the door behind him and looked at Kumiko.

"Hn? What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing!"

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No!" She answered too quickly. "I'm-I'm gonna do my homework."

Kumiko rushed to the couch and opened her binder. But that's all she did. She just froze and stared down at her work. Mikoto looked at her and sat next to her.

"Kumiko."

The said girl made a small jump and snapped her head up as she blushed and looked away. Mikoto put his hand on her cheek, and lifted her face up to look at him. "I'll leave and see you tomorrow." He stroked her cheek with his thumb and stood up.

"No!" She grabbed his jacket.

"Hn?"

"I-I don't want you...to leave..." She said inaudibly, but loud enough for him to hear.

He sat back down. "Then why are you acting weird?"

"Be-Because...well...last-last night we-"

"Kissed."

She blushed harder just thinking of it. "Yeah...But now we're alone...and I guess I'm just nervous...being alone."

He pulled her closer by her tie. "Do you want to continue?"

"I-I-I-M-Mi-Miko...to..." She placed her hands on his chest and bunched the fabric of his shirt.

He placed a knuckle under her chin and lifted her face up. Kumiko squeezed her eyes shut when she felt his lips gently press against hers. He pulled back shortly after to look at her and see if she wanted him to continue or not. She looked at him and averted her eyes. When she looked in his eyes, he had this intense and questioning gaze that made her quiver and look away.

"Kumiko."

Her face went red at the sound of his voice. She held onto his shirt even tighter when he slowly started to crawl over her. Mikoto lowered his forehead to hers and she released a shaky sigh when she felt his lips press to her forehead and brush pass the bridge of her nose. He trailed his kisses down her face where his lips met hers and he kissed her harder than the first kiss. Kumiko wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her up closer to him. He licked her bottom lip, asking for entrance. She hesitated and it wasn't long before Mikoto pushed his tongue in, making Kumiko whimper. She felt his tongue looking for hers, but she kept backing out. She was nervous. Last night was still too overwhelming for her to even think about.

Mikoto pulled back. "Do you want to stop?"

She was about to reply, but the sound of the front door unlocking could be heard. Kumiko gasped and pushed Mikoto off of her. She stood up and waited for whoever was on the other side of the door to walk in.

"Who is that?" Mikoto asked.

"I'm not sure. I mean it might be my aunt. But I don't know," she said nervously.

The door opened and two adults walked in; a male and a female. The male looked as if he was six foot eight inches tall. He had short, black hair that was combed to the right in a neat manner. He was dressed in a black suit with a black tie in the middle of a white dress shirt. In addition, his dark gray eyes looked like they could pierce right through you.

The woman, just like the man, had long, sleek black hair, but it was tied up in a ponytail. She was dressed in a black blazer that went over a white button down shirt and her fitted skirt went down just above her knees. She looked like she was about five inches shorter than the man at her right. Her eyes looked like the same: dark and gray. But they didn't possess the intense look. Her eyes were more gentle-looking.

"Kumiko-chan," the woman said and stared at the two teens.

"Mom...Dad?"

Mikoto looked at her with a confused expression.

Kumiko went to the two adults and gave them a tight hug. They both wrapped their arms around her before they pulled back and observed her appearance.

"You're so grown up," the man said.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kumiko asked.

"Tatara called us and left a message saying you need someone to watch you?"

She sighed. "I'm okay."

"So you want us to go?"

"No!" She said and hugged them tight again. They both looked up to see Mikoto taking in the scene.

"Kumiko-chan? Who's this?" The woman asked.

She turned around and said, "th-this is Mikoto Suoh."

"I'm her boyfriend."

She rushed to Mikoto and hit him on the arm. "Baka Mikoto!"

"How do you know him?"

"We're in the same class," Kumiko quietly said.

The man and the woman came closer to Mikoto and studied him. Mikoto looked at them with indifference.

Feeling slightly awkward, Kumiko said, "Uhhh let's eat dinner!"

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The man (who Mikoto learned as Ken Uehara) and the woman (Emiko Uehara) turned out to be the married couple who adopted Tatara and Kumiko after they were abandoned in the park. They may have adopted them, but they were rarely home due to their jobs always keeping them on the go. They both owned and worked for a very successful company known simply as Uehara Company which made baked goods. However, the company's recently been in multiple types of crises: bills are piling up, new ideas are running out, and many people are quitting or being let go. This resulted in the two adults to constantly be out and about, trying to save their company.

"Kumiko-chan," her foster father said. "We have to take care of business with the company again tomorrow night."

"So you're gonna be off again?" She asked, a minuscule trace of disappointment could be heard in her voice.

"We're sorry."

"It's fine," she gave them a bright smile which they returned.

"Suoh-kun, are you staying over? It's getting pretty late and it's still a school night."

"Mom," Kumiko quietly said. "Mikoto is...suspended."

The two looked at Mikoto and Kumiko with wide eyes. "WHAT?"

"I-It's for a good reason...I guess. Well, I was being teased—we both were—and he beat up a couple of our classmates really bad."

Her foster father sighed. "What if _you_ get hurt, Kumiko? Hangin' around someone like Suoh-kun."

"But I won't. If I do then...oh well."

"Kumiko," he said again, this time in a lower voice. "You may not be our legitimate daughter, but we care for you as if you are. We just want you and Tatara to be safe."

She bit her bottom lip. "Thanks."

They all looked at Kumiko who they noticed she was beginning to fall asleep at the table. Her head was bobbing and the task of keeping her eyes open was harder to do.

"Kumiko-chan," her foster mother said. "Do you want to sleep now?"

She shook her head. "I'm...fine."

Mikoto picked her up, taking her by surprise, as always.

"Mikoto!"

"Goodnight," Mikoto said.

"Wait! Will I see you guys in the morning?"

They frowned and walked up to her. "The possibility is slim. If we don't see you tomorrow," they both kissed her forehead, "we'll see you soon. Goodnight."

Kumiko frowned. "Goodnight."

Mikoto carried the exhausted girl up to her room and laid her on her bed where he sat next to her.

"You never told me you were adopted."

"Mm...the thought slipped my mind. And I don't like to talk about them a lot."

"Oh? Why?"

Kumiko didn't respond.

"Oi, Kumiko."

She still didn't respond and Mikoto looked down at her to see that she had fallen asleep against his chest. She's fallen asleep in front of him only once, but he's never really observed her sleeping face before. _She looks really calm_, Mikoto thought. The bright moonlight was their only source of light in the room and it danced across Kumiko's features. Mikoto brought his hand up and stroked her cheek as gently as he could. This caused Kumiko to stir just slightly in her sleep. He retreated his hand as if he touched a hot surface and brought his hands up behind his head before attempting to fall asleep.

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Downstairs, Ken and Emiko were in the middle of cleaning up the kitchen when one of their cell phones began to ring.

"Hello?" Ken answered. There was a moment of silence before he spoke up again to say, "alright I'll be there."

"Was that the company?" Emiko asked.

"Yeah, they called me in. I'll be back."

"Do they need me?"

"No. Just me. Be back soon."

With that said, Ken walked out the door, leaving a confused Emiko.

"Why would the company only need one of the two owners? And what's so urgent that they need only one of us at this hour?" She said to herself and finished cleaning up.

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The morning came and a bright sun peaked through Kumiko's windows to wake her up. She noticed Mikoto lying down next to her. He was sleeping on his side with one arm behind his head to prop his head up higher. His other arm was currently draped across her waist. She smiled and leaned down to place a kiss to his forehead. Kumiko then slowly got off the bed, to prevent him from waking up. He did, however, stir in his sleep and grumble, but was still in his deep slumber. She quietly walked outside and shut the door. Kumiko was about to take the first step downstairs, but curiosity got the best of her and she walked to the guest room to see that her foster parents were still there, fast asleep. She smiled and walked downstairs to make breakfast for everyone. She busted out the eggs, cheese, and onions and began cooking. She heard a pair of footsteps descending the stairs and she turned her head to find her foster parents waltz into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Kumiko-chan," her foster mother said with a smile.

"Morning!"

"Good morning," her foster father said. "This smells good. What are you cooking?"

"Eggs with cheese and onions," she served them their eggs and they said their thanks. "I'm gonna go wake Mikoto up before his breakfast gets cold."

Kumiko marched upstairs to her room and slowly opened the door. Mikoto was still fast asleep. She walked over to her bed and sat on the side, lightly shaking the red-head.

"Mikoto," she said, causing him to roll over and grumble in reply.

"Wake up. Breakfast is gonna get cold."

"I'll heat it up later."

"Baka Mikoto," she mumbled and shook him more. He wouldn't budge and she decided to poke his cheek repeatedly. "Mikoto, wake up."

He sighed and sat up, running his hands through his hair.

"Good. Now stand up," she said.

He ignored her and stayed sitting.

"You're hopeless."

"I need help getting up."

"You've gotta be kidding me," she mumbled and stood up, grabbing his arms and attempting to pull him up.

"That's not what I mean," he lazily said.

She stopped pulling and sat back down. "What?"

He pulled her closer to him by her shirt. "Help me get up," he whispered.

She shivered at his husky voice and blushed. "I-I don't know what you...mean."

He grumbled and pressed his lips to hers. "That's what I meant," he said and got up to stretch.

He trudged out of the room, and Kumiko soon followed. They walked into the kitchen together and saw her foster parents reading the paper.

"Good morning, Suoh-kun," her foster father said.

"Ah...morning."

The adult furrowed his brows at the red-head's informality.

Kumiko handed Mikoto his breakfast and told them, "I'm gonna go and check the mail."

Kumiko stepped outside in the chilly air and pulled the sleeves of her hoodie down. She opened the mailbox and saw nothing but coupons and advertisements. She could have sworn her aunt sent in money for her and Tatara. Unless her foster parents took over this time.

"Mom, did aunty send the money?" Kumiko asked, checking through the mail over and over.

"Hm?" She put the newspaper down. "She told me she did."

Kumiko began to panic. _Did someone steal the money_?

"Don't worry, Kumiko," her foster father said, noticing her worried expression. "Just get ready and we'll try to sort this out."

She sighed, nodded, and began her daily routine. Kumiko couldn't shake the thought of her aunty's money being gone. _Who could have done it_?

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"See you later," Kumiko said and hugged her parents.

"We'll try to figure out what happened with the money," her foster mother said.

She nodded and waved goodbye to her parents.

"Do you have any idea of where the money went?" Mikoto asked.

She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. "No idea. We'll figure something out. Do you think Izumo-kun will let me work at the bar?"

He rose a brow and looked down at her. "You're sixteen. You can't even drink yet."

"What about Izumo-kun? How old is he?"

Mikoto thought about it and ignored the question.

She bit her bottom lip and liberated a frustrated sigh. "I don't know what I'm gonna do."

Mikoto looked at her and took her hand. She looked up at him to see he had the usual blank look on his face.

She looked back to the ground with a distressed look plastered to her face. "What are you gonna do today?" She asked, trying to change the topic.

"Go to HOMRA."

"Hm...can I come to visit?"

"Yeah."

She smiled and hugged his arm.

The path to school was no longer covered in snow. The beautiful, green plants were out, blowing in the chilly wind. Kumiko even spotted some colorful plants beginning to sprout. This made her even more happy as the blossoming flowers and plants were a harbinger of spring break, the end of the school year.

She arrived at the large gates of her school. "See you later, Mikoto." She gave him a tight hug and walked through the gates, where other students could be seen running in to make it to class on time.

"Totsuka-chan," a deep voice called out to her. Mikoto normally doesn't remember those who he has met, but he sure knows the source of this annoying voice. Munakata waved to her and walked by her side to class, much to Mikoto's annoyance. Munakata saw Mikoto glaring at him and he returned a disdainful look of his own.

"Tch," Mikoto scoffed and walked away.

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"How is your brother?" Munakata asked as he sat in front of Kumiko's desk.

"He's Tatara, but purple."

"Ah. How serious were his injuries?"

"He has a black eye, bruises, and fractured ribs."

Munakata noticed her upset expression. "I take it he's in the hospital, then. How long?"

"He comes back tomorrow."

"Are you caring for yourself? If you need any help—"

"Um…Mikoto's…actually taking care of me…" Munakata furrowed his brows, unknown to Kumiko. "As well as my foster parents."

His expression softened and he looked back up to Kumiko. "Foster parents?"

"Oh yeah. Haha! I have foster parents, but they're barely around."

"Hmm…"

Kumiko turned her attention to Munakata to see him beholding a blank expression.

"Munakata-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Are you okay? You've been acting kind of strange."

He ruffled Kumiko's bangs, much to the latter's chagrin. "I'm fine, Totsuka-chan. With exams approaching, and rather quickly I may add, I feel somewhat stressed out."

She ruffled his bangs back. "Then we better study hard on Friday."

He looked at her and smirked.

"Take your seats everybody and we shall begin!"

"I'm sorry, Totsuka-chan. But there is a student council meeting during lunch and I'm afraid I can't eat with you."

Despite being slightly upset, Kumiko smiled. "You gotta do what you gotta do. It's preparation for you becoming head of Scepter 4."

He smirked and waved goodbye.

So, the usual boring school day commenced. Mr. Sato began his normal lectures and in-class activities as Kumiko began her doodles in her notebook. As much as she wanted to pay attention to the review for the exams, the blank page of her notebook screamed, "draw a pretty picture" rather than, "take notes." She ended up drawing just a boy and a girl. She drew the boy with a crown and long cape. He was drawn on one knee, holding the smiling girl's hand. The girl also had a crown drawn on her head. How she managed to obtain acceptable grades sometimes was unknown to her. She thought about studying with Munakata in his study group, whoever may be in it, on Friday. She didn't want to let them down, so she released a quiet sigh and stopped scribbling random pictures to begin writing down her notes.  
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"Hey, Mikoto," Izumo greeted as his friend took a seat at the bar.

Mikoto grunted in reply.

"Everything alright?"

"Fine."

Izumo studied him as he prepared Mikoto's usual tea. "How's Kumiko-chan?"

Mikoto's ears perked up at the sound of her name and he looked at Izumo. "Fine. She's coming here after."

"Ah is that so? Haven't seen her in a while."

"Would you let her work here?" Mikoto asked out of the blue.

Izumo placed Mikoto's tea in front of him and leaned on the counter of the bar. "What?"

"She's in need of money."

"Aren't we all?" Izumo responded and started cleaning a glass.

"Someone stole her money."

The blonde stopped cleaning and looked up at the red-head with wide eyes. "What?

Does she know who did it?"

"No."

"Hmm…for her sake and your sake, I probably won't let her work here."

Mikoto rose an eyebrow. "Ah?"

"For one, this _is _a bar. People do get drunk and lose it which leads to reason two, I wouldn't let her be around the sleazy bastards that do lose it. I thought you would have thought of that."

The thought of sleazy men completely crossed his mind. Most likely because he's usually in the bar with no one else around when it's closed. Mikoto clenched his fists at the thought of some drunk bastard hitting on Kumiko who'd probably be too shy to tell the guy to back off. That, or she might slap him, taking her carelessness in to consideration.

Izumo took note of Mikoto's slight anger at the thought and chuckled. "See what I mean?"

The red-head unclenched his fists and released an annoyed, "tch."

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"_Itadakimasu_."

Kumiko dove into her usual bento and stared out in boredom. She didn't want to force Munakata to eat with her. She realized he had his important class duties to take care of. Kumiko could've asked Iris, but of course, Iris was also on student council. So, she just enjoyed the silence and cool breeze running through her brown locks.

_Mrowr_

Kumiko looked up and she wasn't at all surprised anymore. She was starting to grow accustomed to the gray feline's frequent visits. She held out a piece of fish and the cat strolled over to her and sniffed her food. It took its miniscule licks and began to eat the fish. Unfortunately, that was her last piece to offer. Nonetheless, the cat stayed and slept against her side just like the day before. Kumiko pet the cat's surprisingly soft fur and it purred in content. She smiled when it rubbed its head against her side.

"Why do you always visit me, huh?" She asked in a quiet voice. It meowed in response, making Kumiko chuckle. "If you come by tonight, I'll prepare some more fish, okay?" It meowed again and Kumiko closed her eyes, drowsiness slowly taking over.

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**Weird ending. Great job, D1N0. lol But anyways, hooray for chapter 10!  
I read somewhere that Totsuka was adopted by a happy couple. So I put them in here and fabricated the details. So somewhat OC...somewhat not**.

**Ana: ****Aha...thank you so much. You're so kind. :) Well hopefully I can force myself to update sooner so you don't have to wait a looooong time! :D**

**Kyoichi Amaya: Yay! Thank you! You're also too kind. v/w\\v**

**OtakuWriter5441: Oh snap!**

**haha! Thank you for theoretically letting me go and for your review! :) Knyttet: Thank you! I'm glad you like the long chapters and are willing to sit through them. lol**

**Valoja: Haha! Thanks! Don't worry about not reviewing every single chapter! It's cool by me. :) Haha! Party Pooper Kumiko. Tis not her fault she's shy. :) Ah I see your disappointment. But Iris isn't going to play a huge role. Just support. So don't worry too much about her. :) Unless you so desperately yearn for me to change some things. lol. Anyways, THANKS FOR YOUR REVIEW! ((I promise I'll try to get better at fluff. oAo;)) **

**Miechan-ish: ((sews pillow back together despite crappy sewing skills)) Haha! I know... .FRUFF. haha. THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEW! I hope you liked this chapter :)**

**Sarah404: I'm happy as well! Thanks for the review! :D**

**Sesshylover978: It's so fluffy! Sorry...couldn't help myself. I know right? I've been waiting to write them together. I'm glad they are now. :) Who knows what Munakata's thinking? No seriously. I'm not sure myself. Maybe he just doesn't like Mikoto? Maybe he's actually jealous? I honestly have no idea.**

**THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS/FOLLOWS/FAVORITES/VIEWS! Happy ((LATE)) Memorial Day! God bless and have a great day!**


	11. No Way

**D1N0 here! I'm so happy that summer's here. :3 I have time to write this fanfic...until summer school starts. So that's why I already have chapter 12 done! :D I'll put it up tomorrow :) But anyways...please enjoy Chapter 11!**

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"Totsuka-chan."

"Hmmm...?" Kumiko lazily replied.

"I'd probably advise you get to class."

Kumiko slowly woke up and stretched. "Munakata-kun...what's so important that you had to leave student council early to tell me to get to class?"

He sighed and shook his head. "Totsuka-chan...lunch is over and class is going to begin soon."

She widened her eyes and checked her phone. When she reached for the device in her pocket, she noticed the cat was gone. She brushed it off and looked at her phone to see that it read, 1:30.

"Crap! Thanks, Munakata-kun!" She said as she stood up and dusted herself off.

He chuckled. "Would you like to walk with me back?"

"Uh...Sure," she smiled and began walking by his side back to class.

"So how have you been, Totsuka-chan? Are you ready for exams?"

She scratched her cheek and gave a nervous laugh. "Ehe...maybe?"

He sighed. "Your carelessness will hurt you."

She frowned. "I know. But it's hard for me to sit through something and pay attention."

"We'll let's hope you pay attention on Friday, hm?"

"Alright..." Kumiko sighed. "Munakata-kun? Do you work anywhere?"

He looked down at her in confusion. "No I do not. Why?"

"Well, my brother and I didn't receive the money from our aunt that keeps us, y'know, living in a house. Someone stole it. If I can't get a job or find out who did it, then...I don't know what's gonna happen to us..."

"I'm sorry I'm of no help."

"Don't worry about it. Sorry I just dumped all of that on you. But the fact that you're willing to listen is enough to make me happy," she smiled, causing him to smile back.

"Okay," Munakata said as they reached her classroom. "Pay attention in class. The review is critical, you know, Totsuka-chan."

"I realize that, Munakata-kun," she replied in a mocking tone as they waved goodbye to each other.

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The day carried on with exam preparations and Kumiko did her best to concentrate. These last classes were filled with activities rather than lectures. So Kumiko couldn't escape the work. In science, they were paired with anyone of their choice including those from other classes. For ten minutes, the teachers allowed the second years to search for partners. Kumiko immediately spotted Munakata and waved him down.

"I assume you want to be my partner as much as I want to be yours," he walked up to her with a smirk.

"Please?"

He chuckled. "Of course. Let's go back to your home room to receive our directions."

Kumiko nodded and they took a seat at her desk.

For their science final, the two were given only two random chemical compounds. The objective: to create a 0.1 mol solution for each reactant. The students must find everything the teacher would have done to prep them for a normal lab. In other words, the students had to use everything they learned throughout the year in one single lab. The thought of literally doing ten times more work in one single assignment while other projects needed to be done stressed Kumiko out, and it showed as she rest her forehead on her desk with her hands tangled up in her hair.

"Totsuka-chan," Munakata said. "Don't stress out. If we just work with each other, we'll finish this, alright?"

She looked up at him and smiled. Something about his words and tone made her calmer. "Alright. What do we do first?"

"Well the first portion of this is fairly easy. Right now, all we have to do are simple tasks. First, it says to write the chemical formula for each substance. See, extremely easy, right? Our teachers would never make us jump into the hard things head-on."

Kumiko sighed. "You're right. Sorry for-"

"Acting like a human?" He offered a smirk. "Being stressed out isn't something to apologize for. Now let's move on."

As Kumiko and Munakata progressed with their lab final, Kumiko breathed a sigh of relief at each step they encountered. It was a lot easier than she took it for.

"Class! You should be done with part one at least by the end of the day! You can work on it outside of school ONLY if you work on it with your partner. This is due, by email once class ends on Friday before the study session. If I don't have it, ten points will be deducted."

"Look, we're already on part two. How nice," Munakata said. "Percent composition for reactants A and B..." Munakata trailed off in thought. "I'll take care of Reactant A and you can do B."

She nodded and began figuring out the percent composition in lead nitrate. "Okay, eight percent Nitrate, twenty-nine percent Oxygen, and sixty-three percent Lead."

"Good. Say, Totsuka-chan."

"Hm?"

"Do you want to work on this outside of school? That way we won't have to worry about not finishing."

"Sounds good. When?"

"Today? We do end after this class. It would be easy for us if we just continued to work."

"Okay. I just have to let Mikoto know I'm gonna be late," Kumiko said and typed away on her phone under her desk.

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_Bzz Bzz Bzz_

"Ah?" Mikoto took his phone out to see he received a text from Kumiko.

_'Sorry! Munakata-kun and I have to work on our final after school. Tell Izumo-kun I said hi. :)'_

"Tch," Mikoto sighed and snapped his phone shut.

"Everything okay?" Izumo asked.

Mikoto ignored him and closed his eyes in frustration. Izumo just smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and continued straightening up his bar.

"Kumiko says 'hi'."

Izumo looked at him with a confused face. Mikoto opened his eyes and said, "she's not coming over."

"She must've said something to make ya this upset."

"Bastard Munakata..." Mikoto mumbled to himself.

"Huh?"

Mikoto looked at Izumo. "Tch...Doesn't even matter."

"It's about that Munakata kid? What'd he do?"

Mikoto ignored him and chugged the rest of his tea.

"Ya can't blame her for hangin' around him and vice versa."

"Oh?" Mikoto scoffed. "Why is that?"

"He did seem like he made her happy when, y'know, you kind of ignored her."

Mikoto furrowed his brows and clenched his fists. "Bastard Munakata."

"It _was _partly your fault. But, who can blame ya? You just wanted her safe."

"Shut up." Mikoto growled.

Izumo chuckled. "I'm just saying. But you can't stop her from bein' friends with the guy. If Kumiko-chan really does like you, she won't leave ya."

Mikoto grumbled in reply.

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"Let's move on to writing the procedure now," Munakata said. "The instructors said that it must be completely dumbed down."

Kumiko nodded. "Step one: put on apron?"

"Good," Munakata said and wrote down the step.

"Okay class! You have an hour left before you must go home."

"We'll be done before then. Let's save the actually experiment for tomorrow."

"Okay."

_Today is a long day_, Kumiko thought to herself with a yawn. Munakata and Kumiko alternated rule-making. The process was long with Kumiko repeatedly telling Munakata, "dumb it down more!" Each time he handed her the instructions so she could write, he would look it over and give a small sigh.

"Totsuka-chan, is 'use flint striker to light the Bunsen burner' really necessary? Couldn't you have just said, 'light Bunsen burner?'"

"We have to make this lab so simple that we should be able to hand it to someone who's never had any experience in this area."

He gave a small smile and chuckled. "Whatever you say."

They finished their last four steps and ended up with thirty-eight steps in their entire procedure. They walked up to Mr. Sato and showed him their procedure so that he could approve of it.

"Good. There's not much time to perform the lab, so why don't you guys call it a day?"

"Thank you Mr. Sato," they simultaneously said and bowed.

Kumiko grabbed her bag and followed Munakata to his home room so he could retrieve his bag. She stood by the doorway and looked in his home room, spotting a few familiar faces. Iris was working with some girl when she spotted Kumiko at the door and waved. Kumiko politely waved back, a gentle smile accompanying that wave and Munakata came up to her.

"Are you ready?" Munakata asked.

She nodded and walked beside him.

"Good work today, Totsuka-chan."

"You too. Thank you for choosing me as your partner and calming me down," she chuckled and rubbed her arm.

He smiled down at her. "Of course. It's not healthy if you stress out like how you did."

She gave his arm a light punch. "You're a cool friend, y'know?"

"I could say the same of you."

"So cool that you're still willing to bail me out of jail?"

Munakata chuckled at the memory. "Only if you were to allow me into your concerts for free, remember?"

She giggled. "Ah yes. And after parties. I'll bring you to the after parties."

"I could see so much trouble and chaos ensuing if it's _your _after party that I'd have no choice but to arrest you."

"Hey!"

He chuckled.

"We'll if that ever happens, give me a cozy cell."

They both laughed and Kumiko's eyes landed on the red-head at his usual spot by the front gate, making her smile. Mikoto on the other hand, scowled like always at the dark-haired boy walking and laughing beside her.

"Munakata-kun, I'll see you tomorrow! Let's work even harder tomorrow!" She gave him a bright smile and he couldn't help but smile back, despite seeing Mikoto at the gate.

"Alright," he replied. "See you later." Munakata walked away, leaving Kumiko and Mikoto alone.

"Hi," Kumiko gave him a bright smile as well.

"Hn," Mikoto smirked down at her. "Were you planning on visiting your brother?"

She nodded her head. "Mhm."

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Kumiko quietly stepped into Tatara's baby-blue hospital room just in case he was sleeping. Sure enough, the said boy looked as if he fell asleep while reading. His book was faced down by his side, but it was opened and bookmarked. One arm was draped over his stomach and his head was turned toward Kumiko and Mikoto.

Kumiko gently ruffled his hair. He was in such a deep slumber that he didn't even stir when she did that.

She noticed the vase of red carnations on his bed-side table with a small card. She took a look at the card and it read:

"_Please get better Tatara. We love you and Kumiko __very__ much. -Love, Mom & Dad_"

She noticed that the water in the vase needed to be replaced. So she took the vase and went to the small bathroom in the hospital room to clean the vase.

Meanwhile, Tatara stirred in his sleep and slowly opened his eyes to see Mikoto staring at him. He slightly jumped and rubbed his eyes.

"King?! What are you doing here? Is Onee-chan here, too?"

"Hey, sleepyhead," Kumiko said and placed the flowers back in their initial spot on the table. "I see Mom and Dad came. Did you see them?"

"Mhm! I was surprised they came."

"I was definitely surprised last night, too," Kumiko said, scratching her pink-tinted cheek.

"King, did you meet our foster parents?"

"Yeah."

"I wish I was there to see that," Tatara laughed.

"Why are you laughing?!" Kumiko said.

He stopped and looked at her ever-so-flushed face. "Why is your face so red?" He asked innocently.

She didn't answer and turned her head to the side. "What time do you get let out tomorrow?"

He blinked a couple of times in confusion and smiled. "At noon."

"I'll leave school early to come get you-"

"Onee-chan," he sighed.

"What?"

"I'll do it," Mikoto said.

Kumiko turned her head around. "Mikoto, it's no big deal. Really. I can miss school for a couple of minutes-"

"You can't let your partner down," he grumbled.

She frowned. "Okay...But I'll cook for you right as I get home, okay?"

Tatara's face brightened up and he smiled. "Okay!"

_He looks pretty relaxed_, Kumiko thought. _I wonder if he knows about the money_...

She decided it'd be best not to tell him, so he wouldn't get worried.

Kumiko looked over to Mikoto and saw that he was slouched in his chair with one leg resting on his other knee. His arms were crossed and he had his eyes closed, brows furrowed.

"Tatara," she said, focusing her attention back to her brother. "How long are you supposed to rest before you're completely healed?"

"Well, I can't really enjoy spring break..." he frowned. "I have to rest for at least three more weeks."

"I'm sorry..." Kumiko said and looked down at her hands.

"Huh? What for?" Tatara asked and tilted his head.

"It's just...you're in here because some guys were teasing me and they thought it'd be fun to mess with you..."

"Onee-chan...that doesn't make sense," he laughed out. "And it's not your fault."

She mumbled something under her breath that neither of the boys heard. "Well...what did Mom and Dad say when they came?" She asked, changing the subject completely.

"They might stay a little while longer to help us out! Isn't that great?! I can't wait to spend time with them again!"

"Did they say why they wanted to stay with us?" She cautiously asked.

Tatara looked up in thought before he shook his head. "Nope. But just the fact that they're staying with us makes me happy," he smiled.

She smiled. "Yeah me too."

"So I take it King isn't gonna stay tonight then?"

She looked at Mikoto who still remained in the same position, but now had his eyes opened.

"Guess not," Mikoto said.

Kumiko frowned and turned her head. "Y-You can stay...another night...if you want," she trailed off in a whisper.

Mikoto looked at her with wide eyes, then smirked. "Hn."

Kumiko glanced at him and saw him smirking at her, causing her to squeak and turn back around.

"Aha!" Tatara laughed out. "Onee-chan! You have become a completely different person ever since you started to hang out with King! Your emotions have been running crazy!"

Kumiko bowed her head down and furiously blushed. "So...so what if I...have been?"

Tatara chuckled. "It's never just 'fine' with you anymore, huh?"

"Mmm..." Kumiko mumbled.

"Totsuka-san," a young nurse said, stepping in the room. "Here's your dinner." She placed a generic looking hospital meal in front of him. On the plate, he had meat for his side dish. For one of his entrees, he had green beans, carrots, and corn. For the other entree, he had about three scoops of mashed potatoes. "Enjoy," the nurse said and stepped out.

"Thank you," the siblings said.

Kumiko looked back at her brother to see he was looking at the meal with his face slightly scrunched up.

"Tatara? What's wrong?"

He chuckled. "Ehe...let's just say...I prefer your cooking."

She giggled and cut the meat with the knife and fork. She poked a small piece of meat with the fork and held it up for Tatara to eat.

"Say 'ahhh'," she teased, making him slightly blush, cross his arms, and turn his head.

"I'm not a baby..."

"The airplane's coming for landing! Whoosh!"

"Onee-chan!"

She giggled once again and put the fork down. "You have to eat, though."

He grumbled. "You try it and tell me how it is."

She took the fork and ate the small piece of meat. She chewed it and soon, her face contorted into one of little repugnance.

"De-delicious..." She smiled as she continued to chew.

"Hmm...liar..." Tatara chuckled.

Kumiko swallowed the piece of meat. "Yeah...I'd prefer your cooking, too."

They laughed for a little longer before Kumiko spoke up and said, "I'm gonna get going."

Kumiko ruffled his hair and he laughed. "Bye, Onee-chan! Bye King!"

"Hn," Mikoto replied and stood up.

Kumiko waved goodbye before she and Mikoto completely walked out of the room and out of the hospital.

"Mikoto, are you alright?" Kumiko asked. She noticed that he's been pretty quiet this whole evening. Not that he wasn't always quiet, but he seemed "on-edge" quiet. Something was bothering him and she wanted to know.

He didn't respond and just kept walking ahead.

"Mikoto," she said again and tugged on his jacket, only to get no response...again.

She stepped fully in front of him, taking him off guard.

"Hn?"

"If there's anything you need to tell me, you can."

He looked down at her before he started walking again. "It's nothing."

She tried numerous times to get him to talk to her, but he wouldn't budge. She began to panic, thinking that he'd leave again once they reached her home. _Maybe he's just really tired. Stop being so paranoid_, Kumiko thought to herself.

They reached the quiet neighborhood where they eventually reached her house. She checked the mail once again, just to see if her aunt sent more money. Sure enough, there was a single envelope inside addressed to Kumiko and Tatara from her aunt. She released a relieved sigh, knowing that her and her brother weren't going to end up on the streets anytime soon.

"We're home," Kumiko announced as she walked in the house.

Kumiko saw her foster mother stir on the couch and slowly open her eyes. "Ah...welcome back, Kumiko-chan...Suoh-kun."

"What are you doing on the couch?"

She sat up and rubbed at her eyes. "We got a call from the company and Ken went to take care of it. I told him I was going to stay home and cook and wait for you."

Kumiko smiled and hugged her, taking her by surprise. She hugged Kumiko back, nonetheless.

"Why don't you go to bed?" Kumiko said.

Emiko nodded. "Goodnight you two."

"Goodnight. Thank you for everything," Kumiko said and hugged her again.

Mikoto and Kumiko walked in the kitchen to find their dinner on the counter. Emiko had prepared them macaroni and cheese with a hot dog cut out in the shape of a squid. They said their thanks and dug in.

"Mm! This is good!" Kumiko happily said. "What do you think, Mikoto?"

"It's pretty good," he said without looking up at her.

She quietly sighed, hoping he wouldn't hear her. Unfortunately for her, he looked up at her and asked, "what's wrong?"

"Hey that's not fair," she teased. "You ask me the same exact thing I asked and you expect me to answer, huh?"

He sighed and continued eating.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No."

"You seem mad at me."

"It's not you."

She placed her bowl in the sink to wash later after it soaked in the water. She dried her hands and made her way to Mikoto. "Ahh so you're mad at someone. Who?"

"It's no big deal."

She sat next to him and studied him as he ate. He soon got up and put his dish in the sink and filled the bowl with warm water, just as Kumiko had. He turned his back to Kumiko and leaned against the counter as he released a disgruntled sigh. "Suspended for one week and he goes for you."

She followed and stood in front of him. "What was that?"

He thought about it as he furrowed his brows. "Nothing," he replied as he started off to her room.

She ended up blocking his path by sticking out her arms and legs to block the space between the fridge and the counter. He sighed and hoisted her over his shoulder.

"Ah! Hey put me down!" Kumiko struggled and hit his back repeatedly, but he wouldn't budge. She eventually gave up and let him carry her up the stairs to her room. He shut the door behind him and put Kumiko down on her bed as he sat on the edge, arms resting on his knees.

"Mikoto?"

"What is Munakata to you?"

She sat up and tilted her head in question. "A good friend. Why?"

"Just asking."

A light bulb went off in Kumiko's head. "Are you jealous?"

He grumbled and turned his head to the side. Kumiko smiled and crawled over to hug his arm, taking him by surprise. "He's just a friend."

"A friend that seems like he's tryin' to be more than that."

"Don't be silly."

"Tch...I'm not. And it's true. He took you out, always talks to you, kissed your hand," Mikoto said in disgust, especially the last part.

"If he didn't do that, minus kissing my hand," she said with a blush, "then I would have stayed in here being depressed."

Mikoto closed his eyes and exhaled a frustrated sigh.

"I'm fine now, though," she smiled up at him. "Just don't scare me like that again."

He closed his eyes and put his forehead to the top of her head. "Hn."

"I'm gonna go back downstairs to clean up," she said and walked out of the room to the kitchen.

While cleaning the few dishes, she smiled at Mikoto being jealous. _He's like a cute child_. She heard the front door slowly open and she turned the corner to spot her foster father coming in with his tie loose and jacket in hand.

"Welcome home," she greeted.

"Ah Kumiko. When did you return?"

"Mm...about a little over half an hour ago."

"I see. Did you visit Tatara?"

"Yeah. I saw the flowers you and Mom got for him. That was really sweet of you guys."

He chuckled and sat at the counter. He began typing away at whatever work he had to do for the company.

"Is Suoh-kun still here?"

"Mhm. He's upstairs right now."

"Hmm. How is he? He was gone all day when he left with you."

"He's...okay."

"Something wrong?" He asked as he looked up from his laptop. "You hesitated there."

"Well I've been hanging out with this guy from school named Reisi Munakata. He's a good friend because he's just one to calm me down and he helped me get out of depression when Mikoto kind of stopped talking to me for a couple of days. Mikoto just indirectly told me he was jealous," Kumiko giggled. "It was somewhat cute. But he's fine now."

Ken chuckled. "Nice to know he cares for you, even though he may be ill-mannered."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kumiko laughed.

"Nothing, nothing. But what's this about Suoh-kun being the cause of your near depression?"

Kumiko scratched her cheek nervously. "Ehe...when he beat up those guys teasing us, he was afraid he might end up hurting me. So he kept his distance for a couple of days."

"That's a pretty cheesy reason to leave. I don't know whether I should scold him or tell him that was a good idea."

Kumiko giggled. "You should scold him."

"Haha. Maybe I will."

"I should get ready for bed. Goodnight, Dad. Don't stay up too late!"

He laughed. "Goodnight, Kumiko."

The said girl released a long yawn as she made her way upstairs. Before she reached the stairs, however, she stepped on what felt like an envelope. She bent down and picked up the paper.

_Oops. Looks like Dad dropped some work_.

She made her way back to the kitchen, examining the envelope. When she turned it over, she saw that it was a letter addressed to her house with a stamp of musical notes. _This stamp looks exactly like the ones Aunty puts on her letters_, she thought. On the letter, sure enough, it was from her said aunt with the receiver as Kumiko and Tatara Totsuka. She looked inside the envelope and widened her eyes.

Inside was Kumiko and Tatara's monthly check.

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**Finished! Yeah I did the same lab as Kumiko and Munakata for my science final. And it was a lot easier than I thought. phewww. OH! I made a FB account. I'll post how my stories are coming along. Way better than telling people through "author's notes" disguised as chapter updates. lol. I'll also put art n stuff on there. The link is on my Fanfic profile. :)**

**Valoja: Sorry for the slight confusion. :/ I just don't want to go back and change everything. Some new information always comes up in K Project, and it's just easier if I try to smoothly transition that information into the story without going back and changing things. So sorry again! Thanks for reading! :)**

**Miechan-ish: Haha. Calm yo self. :) I'm glad you like the chapter! Thank you. :)**

**Kyoichi Amaya: Woo-hoo! I dunno? Was it? You tell me? Was it a coincidence that she just found the check lying randomly on the floor? :)**

**Ana: Haha! Thank you so much! :D**

**Sarah404: Don't worry about reviewing the chapter late. It's all good. Haha! Well Izumo said in the manga that Mikoto was an idiot. And in that chapter, he seemed like nothing fazed him and did whatever, even if it meant he got into trouble and embarrassing stuff. So yeah. :) I wonder if I'll write him kiss her in front of her foster parents. I dunno. But thanks for your kind review! :D**

**Diclonious57: At the time he wasn't king yet. He just had that instinct that he would become king, y'know? So no one knows that Mikoto will become king yet. :)**

**THANKS FOR ALL YOUR REVIEWS/FOLLOWS/FAVORITES/VIEWS! I greatly appreciate all of 'em. :) Have a great day and God bless!**


	12. The Truth is--

**Heyoooo  
Sorry I didn't post this chapter when I said I was going to. U_U I honestly forgot…  
But enjoy the chapter and its horrid amount of fluff. :)  
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**  
"What? How'd this get here?" Kumiko said to herself.

"Did you say something, Kumiko?" Ken asked from the kitchen.

"Uhh...it's nothing!" She replied and walked up the stairs. She tripped a couple of times going up because of how focused she was in looking at the letter.

_There's no way Dad did this. Does Mom know about this? I hope they really didn't do this and this is some kind of prank, _Kumiko thought to herself. Two of the people she trusted dearly...might have hurt her.

Kumiko hid the envelope in her sleeve before she headed inside her room. She opened the door and saw Mikoto in gray sweatpants and a black tank top, drying his hair. She instantly blushed. This was the most skin from Mikoto she's seen, and his arms were _very _well toned.

"Hn?" Mikoto stopped drying his hair and stared at her. "Something wrong?"

She shook her head and continued to her drawer to retrieve her clothes for the bath. She pulled out a light gray fitted hoodie and simple black leggings and walked back out to the bathroom for a quick, but refreshing shower. The hot water on her skin cast away any tension she had built up and she released her worries through a sigh. Before she fell asleep from relaxation in the shower, she scrubbed herself down and stepped out into the frigid air. She changed and trudged back into her room.

When she got in her room, she saw Mikoto looking at her piano, running his fingers over the keys and looking through her sheet music.

"Wanna play something?" She asked with a smile.

"Can you play?" He asked.

"Mhm. Tatara plays guitar, I play piano, and we both sing. Our real parents taught us at a really young age."

"Play something," he said as he sat down on her bench and flipped through her large binder of sheet music.

"Not now! My mom is asleep."

"This is one of those electric ones though, right? Can't you adjust the volume?"

"Yeah...but it's still kind of late to be playing. I'll play for you tomorrow when I can be loud," she smiled and crawled in bed.

Mikoto continued to flip through the binder. Some of the sheet music was marked up with which note was which. Eventually, he followed Kumiko into bed and was surprised that she instantly curled up to his chest. "So warm..." she smiled. "Goodnight."

Mikoto smirked and replied with, "night."

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_Mikoto walked down the halls of school with Kumiko at his side for the first time in a week. The girl was as chatty as ever, so he just listened to what she had to say. They headed out to the tree they always sat under when they ate. It was somewhat nice being back. _

_"Since it's your first day back," Kumiko said and pulled out a familiar brown box, "here!"_

_He smirked and took it from her hands. "Thanks."_

_She didn't really make a complicated design. She just made one large circle out of rice and two ovals attached to the large circle. She cut out two small circles of nori for eyes and made an "x" out of nori for what looked like the mouth or nose. Surrounding the picture were the normal vegetables and such._

A rabbit..._ Mikoto thought to himself. He just looked down at it and didn't start eating._

_"Mikoto?" Kumiko asked. "Is there something wrong?"_

_"No. You always seem to make 'cutesy' food, huh?" He chuckled and started eating._

_"But you still end up eating it anyways," she giggled. "Ah-I forgot something to drink! I'll be right back!" Kumiko stood up and started jogging to the vending machine._

_Mikoto chuckled and watched her as she looked over what drink to buy for herself. She had a knuckled to her lips as she thought hard about what to drink for lunch. She would go for one drink, but retreated her hand every time. She eventually just chose a bottled water, making Mikoto laugh. Only Kumiko would think about what to drink as if her decision killed her and end up choosing a normal bottled water. She was about to reach for her water when a student snatched it before she could. _

_"Oi, oi, Kumiko-chan! You have to be quicker than that!" A random classmate said as he tossed it to one of his friends behind Kumiko._

_"Hey! Stop!" She begged as she jumped for her water bottle, like she was the monkey in the middle._

_"Jump, Kumiko-chan!" They laughed at her and made rude remarks about her chest. _

_"Bounce! Bounce!" They both laughed. Kumiko stopped jumping and crossed her arms._

_"P-please stop..."_

_"Aww c'mon! We still wanna play," they threw her water to the side and grabbed her by her arms. They pinned her to the wall and kneed her in the stomach._

_One of them felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and was met with a strong fist, square to his face. The force from the punch caused his head to fly back and hit the wall._

_"Mikoto..." Kumiko said._

_He ignored her and grabbed the other boy's neck. The boy released Kumiko and started falling to the ground. Before he completely did, Mikoto kneed him in the face. He grabbed the bleeding boy by the collar and spun him until he crashed into the wall. The other boy started to crawl away, but Mikoto caught him by his school sweater. He turned the boy onto his back and sat over him as he started to strangle the boy. _

_Kumiko stared in fear as the boy choked out broken cries of help. Mikoto didn't look like he was going to let him go any time soon._

_"Mikoto! Stop!" She begged._

_"Mikoto!"_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Mikoto!"

The said boy shot his eyes open and gasped.

"Finally, sleepyhead."

He looked up and saw Kumiko sitting on his stomach, looking down at him.

"I came to get you for breakfast," she frowned, "but when I came up here, you looked like you had a really bad nightmare. Are you okay?"

He reached his hand up and cupped her cheek. She was surprised at the gesture but smiled and held his hand. "Let's go eat."

Mikoto sat up and ran his hands through his messy, red-locks. Kumiko shifted so that she was now sitting on his legs.

"You gonna let me get up?" He chuckled.

She blushed and turned her head. "Mmm..." she mumbled.

"Hn?"

She bit her lip and quickly pecked his lips as she sat back and turned her head again. Mikoto was definitely shocked, for a lack of better words. She's never kissed him first, excluding that one night he walked her home. But that was a friendly kiss, at least that's what he thought.

Mikoto just stared at her wide-eyed. "D-don't think that...that Munakata-kun will take me away...Baka Mikoto..."

He continued to stare at her with wide eyes. He soon softened his hard gaze and said, "look at me."

She slowly brought her head back up to look at him only to be met with his lips on hers.

"That's a relief," he smirked against her lips.

She darted her eyes everywhere; anywhere but his eyes. She turned her head down, allowing him to plant a kiss to her forehead.

"Let's go eat," he said.

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They walked downstairs to the smell of bacon and pancakes. Orange juice was poured into two glasses for the teens. Her parents were typing away on a laptop when they looked up to the two.

"Good morning, Kumiko-chan...Suoh-kun," Emiko said.

"Good morning," Kumiko said, but not as happily as she said it the day before. She still thinks they stole the money. If they did, she was going to tell them to leave the house. But Tatara was so excited to spend time with them, she couldn't do it. Maybe...maybe she can confront them now and ask them to leave later? But she didn't want to cause a huge scene in front of Mikoto.

"Everything okay?" Her foster father asked.

She gave a thumbs up as she drank her juice. "Mhm. Just kind of tired still," she lied.

"Did you go to sleep late last night?" Her foster mom asked.

"Not really." Kumiko cleaned up her dishes. "I'm gonna go get ready. Try not to give Mikoto a hard time," she smiled.

She went up to her room and pulled out her uniform. At that time, she walked over to her drawer where she hid the check, just in case her foster parents searched in the middle of the night for the money. She put it in one of her notebooks in her backpack and headed off to the bathroom to get ready.

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"See you later!" Ken and Emiko shouted to Kumiko.

"Bye!"

Mikoto and Kumiko left and were now on their way to school.

"Just one more day," she looked at him, "and you'll be coming to school again."

He sighed.

"It's been a long week. And just one more week until spring break!" Kumiko happily said. "Were you going to do anything?"

"No. You?"

"Hmm...no. Maybe I'll spend it at HOMRA," she smiled.

He chuckled. "I guess I'll spend it listening to you play piano and sing."

"I should practice. That's what I want to do. Play my music for people. Maybe with Tatara by my side. Haha! That is if he wants to."

"'The Troublesome Brats,'" Mikoto smirked.

"With our opening act, 'Hot-Headed Nuisance,'" she poked his arm.

"Tch," he turned his head to the side.

"I win," she smirked victoriously.

"Whatever."

She laughed and hugged Mikoto's arm. Kumiko suddenly turned serious.

"Mikoto."

"Ah?"

"I think I know who took our money."

His ears perked. "Oh?"

"It was my foster parents."

There was a silence between them and she looked up at him. He was looking down in thought.

"Are you sure?"

She tilted her head. "What?"

"How do you know they took it?"

"When I was cleaning up the dishes, my dad had come home and we talked a bit. When I finished, I started walking back upstairs when I stepped on this," she reached in her bag and pulled out the money. "My aunt always writes us a letter and signs the date. This letter is dated '3/7.' The second one we got is dated '3/9'. When we got home after visiting Tatara, I don't remember this being on the floor. But after my dad came home, it was there."

"You gonna tell your brother?"

"That's what I was just gonna tell you. Do you mind keeping it a secret from my parents and Tatara? He's pretty excited about spending extra time with them."

"Don't you think it'd be better to tell him instead? Breaking news like that to him after spending quality time with them is kind of harsh."

She thought about it and grumbled.

"Do you want to go now?"

"But visiting hours start at 7:30. It's 6:45."

"The hospital's down the street from school. You'll make it in time."

She was silent for a moment, thinking about the idea. She finally decided on what to do and she replied with, "okay. Let's go tell him."

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By the time they made it to the hospital, it was already 7:25. They decided they would just sit on a bench outside of the hospital for five minutes. Kumiko was nervous on how to tell him.

She stood up and clapped her hands. "Okay, pretend you're Tatara. I wanna practice breaking the news to him."

Mikoto scoffed. "You're ridiculous."

She leaned over so her eyes could be at the same level as his and placed her hands on her hips. Mikoto reeled back, eyes wide. "If you don't do this, I won't let you kiss me for...a week."

He smirked and leaned forward to kiss her. However, she grabbed him by his cheeks and held him in place. "I'm serious," she said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Tch," the red-head furrowed his brows. He sat back as he rest his arms on the back off the bench.

"Are you going to do it?" Kumiko gave him puppy-dog eyes and tilted her head.

"Don't do that when I can't kiss you," Mikoto grumbled.

"Then pretend to be Tatara."

He grumbled some more and exhaled one of the heaviest sigh she's heard. "Hi, Kumiko."

She stared at him and he stared back. Kumiko wasn't just staring at him, she looked as if she was studying him. He waited for her to continue. She turned her head to the side and covered her mouth with her hand. Her head was slightly lowered, so he couldn't tell what her expression was like. She soon started to shake. Mikoto thought she was being just a bit over dramatic with the whole crying.

"Oi, Kumiko." Mikoto walked up to her. What he thought was crying turned out to be laughter she was trying to suppress. She failed at holding back her laughter and started laughing hysterically. He sighed and checked his phone to see that it was 7:32.

"I'm gonna be the last one laughing when you're late for class because you spend all this time laughing."

She calmed down a bit and headed toward the hospital entrance. Mikoto grabbed her by the wrist, causing her to turn around.

"Hm?"

"So I can kiss you now?" He smirked.

His husky tone and smirk caused her to turn her head and blush furiously.

"Well?"

She slowly and shakily turned her head back in his direction, but kept it bowed. "Well?! Are you going to!?"

He tilted her face up and just gave her a gentle kiss. But that kiss was enough to make her knees weak.

"Okay let's go," Kumiko said and pulled him with her.

They walked through the sliding doors and asked the people at the front desk if they could visit Tatara Totsuka. The nurse said yes and gestured them down the correct hallway. They thanked her and walked down the empty hall.

They arrived at his room and slowly walked in. He was reading as usual. He was so engrossed in his book that he didn't even notice the two.

"Always reading, huh?" Kumiko said.

Tatara looked up and gave them a bright smile. "Onee-chan! King! What are you doing here so early?"

"I...um...I have to tell you something..."

"Oh? What is it?" He smiled at her.

_Don't smile at me so happily like that, Tatara_, Kumiko thought.

She took a deep breath in. "It's about...Mom...and Dad."

Tatara focused his full attention on Kumiko.

She inhaled another deep, shaky breath and was about to answer when...

"Mom! Dad!" Tatara exclaimed as he saw the two adults step through the room.

Kumiko and Mikoto whipped their heads around and saw them standing in the doorway.

"Oh?! Kumiko! Suoh-kun! What are you two doing here?!"

Kumiko bunched the fabric of her skirt and smiled. "I just came to visit Tatara and tell him how excited I was to spend time with him and you guys."

Mikoto stared at her.

On the other hand, her foster parents hugged her. "How 'bout tonight, all of us go and eat out. Your guys' choice," her foster father smiled. "Why don't you come along, Suoh-kun?"

"It's a family thing, right?" He said in a plain voice.

Kumiko just stared at him as he stared back.

"Well okay then. But join us if you change your mind."

Kumiko's gaze fell to the clock on the hospital wall. It read 7:45.

"Oh no! I completely lost track of the time! I'll see you guys after school!"

"Bye, Onee-chan! Bye King!"

"See you later you two."

With one last wave, Kumiko and Mikoto left the hospital.

The whole walk to school was shrouded in silence. Mikoto looked down at her and saw that her face looked sad.

"What are you gonna do?" He asked her.

"I'll still tell Tatara. Maybe before dinner."

"Hn."

"I'll tell you what happens," she smiled at him.

They made it to school with five minutes to spare before the bell rang for school to start. Kumiko quickly hugged him and ran off to class. She entered the class room right as Mr. Sato pulled out his attendance book.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she bowed.

"You're actually right on time. Please have a seat," he smiled and gestured to her seat.

"Thank you," she said and settled in her seat.

_Dammit...I shouldn't have hesitated_, Kumiko thought to herself. _What would have happened if I did tell Tatara? Things would have definitely been different. Now he's gonna go out and spend the day with them. He might think it'll be a waste of his first day out of the hospital after I tell him. Or... maybe I just won't tell him?_

"Totsuka, Kumiko."

"Yes?"

"Ah...so you are here," he marked her present by her name. "I was starting to worry," he joked.

"I'm sorry."

After a few classmates giggled, the day began. Mr. Sato gave them writing prompts to prepare them for their history and English exams. For history, they had to turn in their work so far at the end of the period which would be graded and handed back to them throughout the day so they could go home and study. But for English, they had to turn in their work that they had so far and leave it with the teacher. They would receive it back at the time of the finals so they could use whatever they wrote on the ESSAY portion of the final. Writing out a broad outline of their essays was fine. But if they actually began writing out their essay, they could no longer use the essay notes.

In math, Mr. Sato handed out the same old review worksheets. Kumiko was getting a whole lot better at them. She thought that these boring, monotonous worksheets were so troublesome at first, but now she can finish them in the blink of an eye.

Kumiko went the day without drawing her infamous doodles and was proud to say she focused the entire time. But now Mr. Sato was going over important information regarding the end of the year. So, Kumiko took _this _time to draw.

"At our class party next week, everyone will be bringing in some sort of food or drink. So before I send you off to lunch, let's organize who'll bring what. Okay...who's willing to bring utensils?"

"I'll do it!" Many classmates yelled. Mr. Sato scanned the room and he just chose a random student.

He continued to call out different items everyone could bring next week. When he called for desserts, Kumiko was the only one to raise her hand. So, she decided that she was going to make the desserts.

"Aaaand Suoh-kun has appetizers," he finished. "Alright! Go enjoy your lunches!"

Kumiko stayed in her home room this time and pulled out a sandwich and juice. She was too lazy to actually prepare a bento for herself.

_Bzz Bzz Bzz_

She felt her sweater pocket vibrating and she pulled her phone out.

"_Just got out of the hospital! :D Hooray! We'll all be waiting for you after school! So hurry!" -Tatara :)_"

Kumiko continued to stare at her phone for a long while before she sighed and snapped it shut.

"You seem to be troubled. Are you okay?"

Kumiko looked up and saw Munakata pulling up a chair in front of her.

"That seems to be a recurring question nowadays," she smiled. "And I'm fine."

"Hmm..." Munakata studied her.

"Well kind of. Y'know that money we were supposed to receive from our aunt but didn't receive?" He nodded. "Well I found it on the floor in my house right after my foster father came home. When I came home before him, it wasn't in the place I found it. But after he came home and I went back up to my room, ta-da! It was on the floor. So I think it was my foster parents who did it."

"That's some accusation," he mused.

"I was going to tell Tatara this morning, but right when I was about to, my foster parents came in the room. I wanted to tell him when they weren't around."

"I see..."

"If they really did do it, I might just have to kick them out. No. I will kick them out," she said with a frown.

"You never know what else they could have stolen and what they might steal."

"Yeah...anyways..." Kumiko said, attempting to find something else to talk about. "How are you doing, Munakata-kun?"

"I'm doing well. Since it's the end of the school year, student council work is somewhat slowing down. So I'm relieved. I don't have anything that interesting to say. My life isn't as eventful as yours," he smiled.

Kumiko chuckled. "You should make it 'eventful.' We don't live forever anyway."

It was his turn to chuckle. "Suoh returns tomorrow, correct?"

"Yeah. I wonder what it'll be like with the other students. I wonder if they'll all ignore him, or continue to tease him. Either way, I know it won't be so pleasant."

"I guess you must stay by his side if anything bad happens. If he were to be involved in trouble again, his punishment won't be taken so lightly."

She sighed and drank from her juice pouch. "It's tough being friends with him."

He smirked and took a bite of his lunch.

"Munakata-kun..."

"Hm?"

"I'm...I'm not just saying this because I want this...well I partly am...but anyways...do you think Mikoto could be in our study group as well on Friday? I want him to do well and I think no one will accept him in their groups anyways."

Munakata thought about it with great hesitation. He eventually spoke up and said, "okay. Just remember, it's a study session. It's not the time to-"

She put a hand up in front of his face to silence him. "Yeah I know! I wasn't planning on it!"

He chuckled. "This rosy face of yours is quite amusing to see."

She blushed even harder and threw her balled up saran wrap at him. But he caught it with ease. "You have to try harder than that."

"'You have to try harder than that,'" she mocked.

"I'm just saying that in order to throw me off guard-"

She cut him off by throwing her saran wrap at him again, taking him by surprise. "What was that?" She teased.

He pushed his glasses up and turned his head. "You're unbelievable."

She stuck her tongue out at him and laughed.

"I better get going," he said and stood up. "See you for our project."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"King! How are you and Onee-chan doing?" Tatara asked. Ken, Emiko, Mikoto, and Tatara were currently driving back home.

"Fine."

"Thank you for keeping her company." He turned to his attention to his foster parents. "And thank you guys for helping out as well!"

"No problem, Tatara," his foster father said.

"Tatara-kun, why do you call Suoh-kun 'King?'" His foster mother wondered.

"Because one day he'll really become a king," he smiled. "When he does, I'm going to become his vassal."

"Vassal?"

Mikoto closed his eyes at the conversation, trying to block it out.

"Mhm! King's going to become someone great one day. He even protected Onee-chan many times!"

"Many times? You kids sure do love to get yourselves into trouble, huh?"

Tatara chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Ehe...Sorry..."

They both smiled from the front. "Now, where do you want to eat tonight?"

"Mm..." he placed a knuckle to his chin in thought. "Anywhere's fine! As long we can spend some time together!"

Mikoto opened his eyes again and looked at Tatara's smiling face.

"Hn."

_Kumiko...you're gonna have one hard time tellin' him the truth, _Mikoto thought to himself.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**So yeah. End of the chapter! Not too happy about how it turned out. :P Oh well!**

**Kyoichi Amaya: Haha! Tatara is really sweet. :) I wish my brother was like him, too. Lol naahhh my brother's cool. But thanks for reviewing! :D**

**THANK YOU ALL FOR REVIEWING/VIEWING/FAVORTING/FOLLOWING! It means a lot :) Have a great day and God bless! :)**


	13. Trouble

**Hey :) Here's the 13th chapter.  
****Hope you guys like it. I'm not to sure how I feel about it.  
****But enjoy :)**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Okay, now we need to filter this," Munakata informed Kumiko.

"Okay," she said and placed the clay triangle over the ring stand. She looked in her lab cabinet and pulled out the funnel and filter paper.

"Make sure you don't wet the filter paper to make it stick to the inside of the funnel. The water will interfere with our outcome a bit. So just place the paper in the funnel. When we pour the liquid in, it'll make the filter paper damp and stick to the inside of the funnel."

Kumiko nodded at his explanation. She placed a beaker under the ring stand and adjusted the filter paper so that it'll fit in the funnel. Next, she placed the funnel in the clay triangle and poured their liquid. The filtering was a long process. Once it was over, they put the filter paper in the oven and waited for that to completely dry.

"Next...we have to evaporate what we just filtered."

Kumiko replaced the clay triangle with a wire gauze and put the beaker on top. She then placed the Bunsen burner under and lit it. This process proved to take them around an hour and a half.

"Remember your self reflections are due on the same day as your final! So if you're on the evaporation portion, do your reflection while your waiting!"

"Question 5: If there was anything different you could have done in this lab, what would you do differently?" Munakata placed a knuckle to his chin in thought.

"Get...a...different...partner," Kumiko wrote for herself.

Munakata looked at her. She snuck a glance at him and laughed as she erased her answer. "I'm kidding."

"I was a perfect partner for you, Totsuka-chan."

She stuck her tongue out at him and finished up her reflection.

"Munakata-kun, Mr. Sato said not to completely evaporate it. We have to have some liquid left so we can put it in the oven and get our results."

"Alright."

After measuring the weight of a paper towel, they poured the remaining evaporated contents on the paper towel and placed it in the oven for about half an hour.

"You guys have forty minutes left until you have to clean up and go home!"

"Totsuka-chan, let's work on our data." She yawned and nodded. "Unless...you're too worn out."

"I'm fine."

He looked at her some more before heading back to her seat to work on the lab with her. Kumiko couldn't concentrate as much, but she attempted to give him the best help since it was their final. She constantly rubbed at her eyes and throat.

"Do you mind retrieving the paper towel from the oven?" Munakata asked.

"Ah?!" She was startled in her half-consciousness by the sound of his voice. "Oh...okay."

She walked over to the oven slowly. Her vision began to get blurred and she placed her hand on the lab counters to help her keep her balance. She accidentally grabbed a hold of a graduated cylinder on her way and fell to her knees, breaking the cylinder as well.

"How many times have I said watch what-Totsuka-san! Are you okay?" Mr. Sato asked as he tried to help Kumiko stand. Munakata had also rushed to her side.

When the cylinder broke, small shards ended up on the floor surrounding Kumiko as well as in her hand. Because of this, blood was running down her hand and dripping to the floor. It looked like the girl wasn't even trying to clean herself up. Kumiko just stared blankly at it, too dazed to do anything. She looked up with a blank face and everyone saw that her eyes were half-open and her cheeks colored a visible pink.

Munakata pushed her bangs out of the way and put his hand to her head. "She's really hot."

"I see. Do you mind escorting her to the nurse's, Munakata-san?"

"Not at all," he replied and placed one hand under her knees as the other one rested under her back. He picked her up and headed to the nurse's office.

"What happened back there?" He tried to ask.

She held her head with her good hand and started to quietly pant for air. "I don't know. My head kind of hurts...it's a bit hot...and my throat hurts."

"Hmm. It could be a fever. How long have you been feeling like this?" he asked.

"Mmm...it was a small headache last night, but it was bearable. I woke up and I still had a small headache. Then my throat started hurting today..."

"I see. You're not stressed still, are you?"

No response

He looked down at her and saw that she had drifted off into a light doze.

Munakata walked into the white office plastered with calendars and posters on ways to live a healthy lifestyle. A middle aged nurse with just as much spirit as a twenty year old immediately greeted him. "Hello! What seems to be wrong?"

He laid her down on one of the beds and explained. "She has a high temperature, sore throat, and she's badly cut."

During his explanation, the nurse had pulled out an ear thermometer and took her temperature. She had also examined the damage in her palm.

"She has a fever of 102, so she must go home and rest. We'll take out the shards now before she does."

"Thank you very much," Munakata said and bowed. But he didn't leave. He stayed to make sure she was alright. Her phone began to ring and he found it in her sweater pocket.

_Mikoto_, the caller ID read.

He closed his eyes and answered the phone. "Totsuka Kumiko's phone."

Mikoto was silent before he spoke up. "Where is she?" He asked in a low tone.

"She's currently in the nurse's office. So she'll be out soon."

He didn't ask anymore questions and hung up on Munakata.

"Alright. I took out the glass and wrapped her hand. Please take care!" The nurse smiled and bowed.

Munakata bowed and picked her up. "Thank you for your help."

He headed back to the class room and gathered her things for her before slinging it over his shoulder and heading down to meet Mikoto.

When Mikoto heard footsteps, he turned his head and narrowed his eyes at Munakata carrying Kumiko. Munakata stopped in front of the red-head as the latter held out his arms to carry Kumiko.

"Thanks," Mikoto said and gave Munakata a small glare.

"It was no problem at all. She has a temperature of 102 degrees Fahrenheit. She also has deep cuts in her hand. So take care of her," He gave Mikoto his infamous disdainful look and headed back to class to clean up.

Kumiko stirred and gripped Mikoto's shirt. He looked down at her before heading to the car with her foster parents and Tatara. The said boy saw the two and opened his door.

"What happened?!" Tatara asked.

"She's got a fever," Mikoto said and sat her in the middle seat before closing the door.

"Well, we can't eat out tonight. But that's okay," Emiko smiled. "Let's get her home."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They arrived home and Ken carried Kumiko's bag while Mikoto carried her up to her room. Mikoto laid her down carefully and sat on the side of her bed.

Her foster father stared at the scene before him: Mikoto was cautiously stroking her hair, barely touching her locks. It was as if the smallest touch would break her.

"You scared?"

Mikoto looked up at him. "Ah?"

"That you would hurt her one day?"

He furrowed his brows and looked back at Kumiko.

"I don't think you will, kid. If Kumiko trusts you, then I do too." With that said, he left Mikoto alone with Kumiko.

The red-head's hand traveled from her hair down her arm to her injured hand and he stroked it. He wondered what reckless thing she could have possibly done this time. He brought her hand up and planted a tender kiss to it. Oh how he wanted her to just wake up already.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**HOUR AND A HALF LATER**

"How is she?" Tatara asked as he came in with a fresh cloth to put on her forehead.

"Still sleeping."

Tatara placed the towel on her forehead and sat on her piano bench.

"Y'know if she found out you were taking care of her when you're supposed to be resting, she'll b*tch you out," Mikoto said.

Tatara placed a finger to his lips and smiled. "Keep it a secret."

Mikoto just looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Anyways, I wonder what made her catch such a high fever?"

"Beats me."

Just then, the slender fingers in Mikoto's hand moved and the said boy looked down to see Kumiko shielding her eyes from the lights in the room. She took deep, slow breaths and held her head in immense pain. She felt her hand wrapped in bandages and vaguely remembered a cylinder breaking. She took in her surroundings: lavender walls, Christmas lights strung carelessly around the ceiling, white curtains, a piano.

"Good morning," Tatara quietly said and smiled.

She whimpered at the pounding in her head and turned on her side, gripping the sides of her head. "Why do my head and throat feel like they're on fire?"

"I was wondering the same thing," Tatara chuckled. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm at home?"

"King told us you had a fever of 102 degrees and some cuts in your hand."

"Mikoto...Where is Mikoto?"

The two looked down at her, confused. "What are you saying?" Tatara asked.

She just grumbled in response.

"I'm right here."

She jumped at the sound of his voice. She tried to sit up, the cloth falling onto her lap. Kumiko felt something warm wrapped around her hand. It wasn't the gauze. She looked down and saw Mikoto's hand firmly holding hers.

"I was at school," Kumiko began. "I was working with Munakata-kun and I got up to do something, but then I fell. And I felt some sharp things in my hand. Ouch..." Kumiko mumbled and laid back down, due to a shot of pain coursing through her head.

Her foster mother came in the room with some soup and sandwiches. "Morning, Kumiko-chan. I made some dinner for you."

"Thank you."

"I'll leave it on your desk along with medicine." Emiko placed the soup and medicine on the said desk and walked out.

That reminded Kumiko...

"Tatara..."

"Hm?"

"I was gonna tell you something at the hospital about Mom and Dad."

He listened intently.

"A couple of days ago, someone stole our money that we usually get from aunty." He stared at her in shock. "Last night, I found it on the floor after Dad came home when it wasn't there to begin with."

"So they stole the money?" Tatara looked down.

"That's what it looked like to me."

He continued to look down, but eventually looked up and smiled. "Don't sweat it. It'll all work out somehow."

"Tatara..."

"Everything happens for a reason right?"

Kumiko looked down. When she didn't respond he smiled and said, "Goodnight, Onee-chan. Please get better."

He walked out of the room.

Her attention turned to Mikoto. "What time are you leaving?"

"Who said I was leaving?"

She smiled and slowly stood up to eat her food in silence.

"Your brother took it better than I thought."

"That's just how he is. He may show that he's happy and okay with things, but sometimes he really does hurt, too."

"Hn. How do you think he's holding up now?"

"Probably just lying in bed, trying to process what I just told him."

Kumiko finished her meal within a matter of minutes and grumbled at the medicine before her. She's always hated taking it when she was sick, especially pills. But, she forced herself to take the pill. Eventually, she headed downstairs to clean her dish. Before se headed out the door, Mikoto took her dishes and grabbed her by the waist. "Let me do it."

"I-I can do it," she whispered.

"Lie down."

"...No."

He closed his eyes and released a frustrated sigh. He put her dishes down and pulled her closer to by her tie. "Let. Me. Do. It."

Despite her face burning up again and her rapid heart beat, she still said very softly, "no."

He sighed again and realized there was no use trying to get her to lie down. So he suddenly took her bowl and rushed out of the room to put it away. Behind the door, he heard an exhausted attempt at Kumiko shouting his name. But she never came outside to chase him. She stayed in the room.

'_What a pain_,' he thought.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The bright sun trespassed Kumiko's white curtains and lit up her room. Her door swung open, revealing more light. Kumiko shielded her eyes and grumbled. She still had a small trace of her pounding headache.

As her eyes adjusted to the bright light, she felt a weight on the side of her bed and saw Mikoto staring down at her. He was already dressed in his gray sweater, white button down shirt, plaid pants, and red and black striped tie.

"Mikoto...when did you get up?"

"Hour ago."

She took a look at the clock by her piano to see that it said, 6:30. She shot out of bed, regretting it the moment she did. Pain shot through her head and she held it.

"Shoot! I have to get ready and make breakfast!"

"Your brother made it this morning."

"Oh..." she said. Kumiko sat up and stretched before heading down to the kitchen to eat, Mikoto trailing behind her.

When she walked downstairs, she saw her foster parents on their laptops as usual with Tatara eating beside them.

"Ah! Good morning, Onee-chan! How are you feeling?"

"I still have a small headache, Tatara..."

"Sorry," he lowered his voice.

"Good morning Mom...Dad."

They didn't acknowledge her greeting. Not even a simple "hm." They just kept their eyes glued to their computer screens. Kumiko looked away and made her breakfast.

"Did you eat, Mikoto?"

"Yeah."

She made her food and sat with the rest of the family.

Noticing the heavy atmosphere surrounding them, Tatara spoke up. "So you go back to school today, right King?"

He replied with a simple "yeah."

"That's cool! Isn't that cool, Onee-chan?"

She replied the same way, giving him nothing more than a "yeah."

Tatara sighed. "I guess you still are feeling a little under the weather. Well, I won't keep you from eating. I'm gonna get ready," he smiled and cleaned his area up.

"Me too," Mikoto added. Although Mikoto was already completely ready, he wanted to give Kumiko a chance to confront her parents about the money. He looked at Kumiko, then to the two adults, making it clear to her what he was trying to do.

The two boys left the room, leaving Ken, Emiko, and Kumiko alone.

"Mom...Dad..." she began.

"Not now, Kumiko," her father said. He rest his head on his hands, massaging his temples and mumbling something.

"But it's important."

They didn't respond and she sighed. "Mom...Dad-"

"Kumiko," her father said in a stern tone. "I can't talk right now-"

"Why did I find Aunty's check on the floor after you came home, Dad?"

They both stopped typing and looked up at her. "What?"

"Did you guys take Aunty's money from us?"

They stared at her with wide eyes. "Kumiko-chan," her foster mother began. "Why would we do that?"

"Don't lie to me."

There was silence between the three and Kumiko looked back and forth between them, expecting an answer. When they gave none, she continued. "I know you guys did it. I _found _it on the ground in this house!" Her voice was getting louder.

"Kumiko..." her foster father began. "I think it's time for you to get ready for school." He started to close his laptop and clean his area.

"Dad, don't avoid the question."

He bowed his head and stayed standing at the sink. "I didn't have a choice."

"Ken..." Emiko said, causing Kumiko to look back at her. "Why do you sound surprised, Mom?"

"I-I didn't know-"

"Don't lie to me!" Kumiko said, near shouting.

"Kumiko," Ken said in his usual stern tone, this time, much louder. "Don't yell at her like that. She genuinely didn't know."

Kumiko shook her head and cleaned up the kitchen.

"Kumiko Totsuka, do not act sassy towards us-"

"I don't want to hear that from you guys! What I want to hear is why the hell did you take our money?"

Ken was silent as he struggled to find the correct words to tell not only Kumiko, but his wife as well. "My friends from the company and I...we're sick and tired of the excess work we have to take care of because of our company's financial issues. We go out...almost every single day and we...we try to win some money to get the company back on its economic feet. So we gamble. One night, we were cocky and almost lost by hundreds of dollars, if we weren't so far ahead. I was afraid that that could happen again, so the next day, I took the check-"

"And you gambled away our money..." Kumiko finished.

"I didn't actually end up gambling away the check, Kumiko. I brought it home."

"How long was it in your bag for?"

He went silent.

"That's great that you brought it home, but you never actually gave it back."

"Ken," Emiko walked past Kumiko up to her husband. "I thought you didn't do this anymore."

Kumiko looked at them confused. "Anymore?"

"Ever since company started doing poorly, about three years ago, he picked up on a gambling addiction. A couple of months into his addiction, I found out and helped him stop. I guess he never did stop and he kept it hidden from me," Emiko frowned and looked down.

"I can say I'm sorry," Ken started, "but I can apologize and apologize all I want and it wouldn't do anything. But...Kumiko...Emiko...I'm sorry. I wish I took it back. I wish I stopped gambling three years ago. I wish I never even started. I'm honestly sorry."

Everyone was silent as they digested the news laid out before them.

Kumiko broke the silence. "Tatara may be nice and forgiving, but me, not so much."

The two adults looked at her.

"By the time Tatara and I get home from school, I don't want to see you or your things here. Start packing and leave."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Yeah. That's the chapter. :3 Please review and shtuff  
Thank you all for everything :3  
Off to make me a 3DMG o_o**

**Sarah: Thank you! Hmm...I wasn't planning on adding another love interest. Because then it'll be chaotic with another oc-love-interest. Sorry! But thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Guest: Here's the update! I hope you liked it. Thanks for the nice review!**


	14. Siblings

**Hey! Here's Chapter** **14! I told some of you I'd update on Wednesday, but I explain why I didn't at the end of the chapter.  
So enjoy!**  
**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"By the time Tatara and I get home from school, I don't want to see you or your things here. Start packing and leave."

Ken and Emiko stared at her with wide, sad eyes. There was no trace of jest in her voice. They couldn't see what her face was like. Her back was turned to them.

"K-Kumiko-chan?" Emiko said, on the verge of crying. Kumiko heard her voice breaking and it made her want to cry.

"Kumiko...do you mean it?"

She took a deep, shaky breath in. "Yes."

"I'm...I'm really sorry. But I know we can fix this-"

"Dad, if you say anything else, it's just gonna make this harder. I'm serious. I can't trust you guys anymore." With that said, Kumiko left them in the kitchen and went upstairs to get ready. She wanted to cry, but she didn't want to waste tears on people like them. Her throbbing head only made her feel worse.

She walked into her room and saw Mikoto sitting on her bed while Tatara chatted happily from her piano bench.

"How'd it go?" Mikoto asked.

Kumiko ignored him and gathered her clothes.

"Onee-chan?"

She turned around and smiled. "It went alright. If you want to say bye to them now, then you should probably do it now."

"Goodbye?"

Kumiko took a deep breath in. "They're not gonna live with us anymore..."

"Onee-chan..."

"Hey, hey! Don't sweat it! It'll all work out!" She mocked and poked him.

On her way to the bathroom, Kumiko could hear sobs from the guest bedroom. She stopped by the door and tried to listen to what was going on. However, there was no talking coming from the room. All she heard were bags being packed, heavy sighs, and sobs.

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"We're leaving," Kumiko shouted. There was no response and they continued walking.

The tension in the air was thick as the three walked to school. No one spoke one word to the other. Normally, Tatara would be rambling about anything with no end. But he didn't say a word. The only noise surrounding them was the sound of cars passing by with the occasional honking.

"How are you feeling today, Tatara?" Kumiko asked, attempting to break the silence.

He looked at her and saw she showed no hint of sadness. "I'm fine. But what about you?"

"Huh? What about me?"

"You had a 102 degree fever yesterday! Are you sure it's okay for you to go to school?!"

She chuckled. "I still have a slight headache, sore throat, and a little nausea. But I'm fine! I think I might've just been stressed out and stuff. So I just gotta calm down." She lied, giving him a reassuring smile.

Tatara wasn't convinced and stopped in front of her and put his hand to her forehead. The action happened pretty quickly, startling Kumiko. "Tatara! What in the world are you doing?!"

"Hmm...you're still really warm! I think you should go back home and rest!"

"And I think I should go to school."

He turned her around and started to push her back. "You need to rest!"

"Ah-Hey!" She spun around and stepped to the side, causing Tatara to stumble forward.

"Woah!"

"I'm fine, Tatara," she said and continued on to school. Mikoto and the younger boy just watched her continue on by herself. They decided to just give her space and let her walk on by herself. So they stayed behind her the whole way to school.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Bye Onee-chan! Bye King!"

"Are you sure you don't want us to walk you to school?" Kumiko asked. They had stopped by Kumiko and Mikoto's school first.

"Yup! I can make it just fine!"

She ruffled his hair. "Okay. Don't talk to strangers, alright? I mean it!"

He laughed. "Okay! See you later!" Mikoto and Kumiko watched as he jogged off.

She turned her head towards him. "Are you ready to go back to school?"

He grumbled, but still walked past the gates nonetheless.

Everyone stared at the two as they entered campus together. Mostly Mikoto. He received glares, fearful glances, and ones of shock. The red-head didn't seem troubled by it. He just continued to walk on to class with a look of indifference. In some parts of the campus, the two could hear whispering. Something like, "he's back" or "oh crap."

They made it to their classroom and just sat at their desks. Mikoto rest his head on his hand, closed his eyes, and sighed. Kumiko scooted her chair closer to him.

"Welcome back," she giggled.

He opened his eyes and looked at her in disbelief. "Really?"

"I'm glad you're back!" She tried to cheer him up.

He grumbled in response, making her smile and tug on his sweater. "Smile, Mikoto."

"Um..." A voice spoke up. The two teens looked up to see Iris standing before them, scratching her cheek nervously.

"Good morning, Iris," Kumiko greeted with a smile. Mikoto on the other hand just turned his gaze outside, completely uninterested in the student before him.

"Are you okay, Kumiko? I heard you had a fever yesterday."

"I'm fine," she smiled. "Don't worry about me."

She nodded and shyly directed her attention to Mikoto. "U-Um...Suoh-kun..."

"Hn?" He grumbled in reply.

"Um...We-Welcome b-back."

He continued to stare at her without saying anything. Kumiko looked at him, waiting to see if he'd answer.

"Thanks..." He said and looked out the window again.

"I-I hope all goes well with you and Kumiko-chan..."

He looked back at her with wide eyes. After a while, he smirked. "Me too."

The said girl blushed. Mikoto looked over to her and decided to tease her. It was his first day back. Why not make it better by seeing her flustered expressions?

"You're blushing," he started off.

She turned her head in the opposite direction. "...No kidding..."

"It's cute."

She gripped her skirt and did her best to ignore him. Iris watched their interactions and giggled softly.

"Oh! Kumiko-chan!" Iris started.

"Hm?"

"There's an event going on in Shizume Park. There's going to be food, games, and a band playing. It's this Saturday! Let's go! You can bring Suoh-kun too if you want."

Mikoto looked at them. "You guys go."

Kumiko frowned. She was thinking that Mikoto could open up to more people if he came along.

"Are you sure Mikoto?" Kumiko asked just in case.

"Yeah."

"Okay...Well it's just me and you, Kumiko!"

Kumiko smiled and nodded.

Right then, Mr. Sato came in the room and said, "Take your seats! We will begin!" His eyes landed on Mikoto. "Suoh-kun, welcome back!"

Mikoto just nodded as a way of replying.

"Oh! Totsuka-chan! How are you feeling today?"

"Fine, thank you," she smiled.

"Settle down, everyone! Let's take attendance and we'll start!"

Mr. Sato began taking the daily attendance while Kumiko was writing a note to Mikoto. She furtively placed the note on his desk. He looked down and opened the note with one hand, the other propping his head up. When he looked at the note, all there was was a simply drawn smiley face. But that picture alone made Mikoto feel better. He looked over to her and saw her massaging her temples. So, he wrote back: _"You okay?"_

_"Never better :)"_

_"You shouldn't force yourself to come to school if you're still sick."_

_"I'm not."_

"Okay class, let's start!"

Kumiko should have been paying attention. Mikoto should have been paying attention. But the two of them kept passing notes around. Whenever Mr. Sato would turn his back to the class, they'd use that opportunity to pass the note to each other. That was just how they'd like to pass the time in class. She eventually stopped after a couple of minutes so Mikoto could focus. She didn't want to be the reason why he'd have to repeat his second year. But he still kept placing notes on her desk. Mikoto didn't care if he missed the lesson for the day. He'd find a way to catch up.

Kumiko quietly sighed to herself and opened the pieces of paper on her desk.

_"Kumiko"_

_"Hey"_

The rest of the pieces of paper were blank and just intended to capture Kumiko's attention. And it worked...somewhat. She scribbled a note back to him and he smirked when he finally got her to write him back. He unfolded it and-

_"Mikoto...stop. We both need to focus."_

He looked at her, but she didn't return his gaze. She continued to take notes and listen to Mr. Sato's lecture. Mikoto scoffed to himself and rest his head on his hand, attempting to pay attention. Kumiko looked at him from the corner of her eye and saw him scowling and twirling his pen. The corners of her lips curled up in a small grin at how childish he could be.

_"Stop flirting. -N"_

Kumiko knew all too well who sent her the message. Her eyes darted to Noemi and she glared.

_"Why do you care? Just mind your own business!" _When Mr. Sato turned around, Kumiko tossed the note to Noemi's desk. However, Mr. Sato turned _back_ around in the middle of the note traveling in the air from Kumiko to Noemi.

"Totsuka-san, did you just pass a note to Takahashi-san?"

"W-Well-"

"I'll let it slide this time. But if I catch you passing notes again, I won't be so kind."

"Yes, sir..." She quietly said.

Mr. Sato went back to teaching and Kumiko let her head fall to her arms on her desk. She ran her hands through her brunette locks when she sat up and saw a single piece of paper in the top, left corner of her desk.

_"So that b*tch is allowed to send you notes but I can't?"_

Kumiko looked to Mikoto and he was taking notes. He sensed Kumiko looking at him and, without turning to face her, he smirked. Kumiko smiled and continued taking notes as well.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"See you guys after lunch!"

Everyone went their own ways for lunch, whether it be to the courtyard, someone else's home room, or just staying there. Everyone left the room except Kumiko and Mikoto. They didn't take offense to everyone leaving. Actually, they enjoyed just the two of them eating in peace and quiet.

"How're you holding up?"

She chuckled. "I'm fiiine, Mikoto."

He studied her and she shifted uncomfortably under his stare. "I'm really fine..."

"How'd you even get sick?"

"I don't know. I mean, I _was _stressed out about the whole thing with my parents, school work, house work, finals next week—"

He put his hand to her forehead, taking her a little bit by surprise. "You're still really warm."

"It-It's just really...hot in here," she chuckled nervously and fanned herself.

"Kumiko. Go home."

"Mikoto. Stop worrying, okay? Plus, I can't afford to be absent now." He sipped his juice box and just stared at her blankly. "And I can make it through these last couple of days of the week," she smiled.

"Hn..."

"Ah!" Kumiko gasped and dug through her lunch bag.

"What's wrong?"

She mumbled to herself as she searched in her lunch bag for the second bento. She looked in all of the pockets, but she couldn't find it. She hung her head and said, "sorry, Mikoto. I guess I didn't make you lunch. And it's your first day back. I wanted to make you-"

Mikoto cut her off with a kiss to her cheek. "Don't stress out. Your fever's gonna get worse," he whispered in her ear and gave her another gentle kiss to the cheek. As if her temperature wasn't high enough...

"Mikoto..." Kumiko said in a small voice. She felt light-headed and, even though she was sitting, she started to get dizzy and fall out of her seat. She grabbed onto Mikoto's sweater for support and he slightly stumbled forward, not expecting her to hold on like that. He pulled back with wide eyes and saw that her face was colored scarlet. Just like the day before, her eyes were half open, she was slightly panting, and she was about to faint.

"Ah-" Mikoto caught her before she completely fell to the ground. He sighed and picked her up to head to the nurse.

"Ah! Mikoto, what are you doing?"

"Nurse's."

"Oh?"

"You're sick."

"How many times have I told you," she said, massaging her temples. "I'm okay."

He ignored her and started to the nurse's office. Right when he walked outside, he nearly ran into Munakata.

"Munakata," Mikoto spoke his name in a low voice.

"Hm," the other boy said. His eyes fell upon Kumiko in Mikoto's hold. "Oh? Is she still sick?"

Mikoto just glared at Munakata, hoping that he'd move out of the way soon.

"Munakata-kun?" Kumiko mumbled.

"Totsuka-chan, why did you come to school today if you're still sick?"

"I can't...miss school..."

Munakata sighed then offered a small smile. "Since we're almost done with our project, I can easily finish up the rest."

She shook her head in refusal. "That's a terrible idea."

He chuckled. "Just get some rest. I'm perfectly capable of finishing our last couple of problems."

"...Okay. But I'm coming to school tomorrow."

Both of the boys sighed. "If I recall, you had a fever of 102 degrees. Those types of illnesses don't just go away _completely _in two or three days. Unless you just rest then it'll be a small cold at best. So," Munakata explained and stepped out of the way. "Take care."

Mikoto took the chance to push out of the way and get away from Munakata. He exhaled a heavy sigh. He looked down at Kumiko and saw that she had a distressed look on her red face buried in his chest.

"Put me down..."

"No."

"Put me down..."

"No."

She told him over and over to put her down until she wore herself out to the point where she was too exhausted to speak.

He made it to the nurse's office and was greeted by the same nurse that helped Kumiko the day before. "Oh? Totsuka-san again? What seems to be the problem?"

"N-nothing..." Kumiko said in a breathy voice.

"She's still got a fever."

The nurse gave the two a gentle smile and walked up to Kumiko with a thermometer. She stuck the device in the girl's ear and pulled it out after she heard a beep.

"She's still got the same temperature. I believe it was 102 yesterday as well. She should go home so she doesn't get any worse. Is there anyone I can call to come and pick you up?"

Kumiko shook her head. "I can stay at school."

"Totsuka-san, you'll only make yourself feel worse. You can rest on one of the beds here."

Mikoto nodded his head and muttered out a "thanks" before putting Kumiko on one of the unoccupied beds. She struggled to sit up, but Mikoto pushed her down at every attempt she made.

"I'll come back when school's done," he shot a small glare her way. "You better stay here."

She mumbled a response back and tried to get as comfortable as she could in the bed. Mikoto stroked her injured hand, earning a small smile. He walked to the door and looked at her one last time before heading back to class.

As he was walking through the halls, he noticed not a single person was left in the hallways. He looked outside and saw no one sitting around eating lunch anymore. Mikoto liberated a troubled sigh. As a result of Kumiko's stubborn nature, he had to help her to the nurse's office and made sure she stayed put. Now he was going to be late to class. Did he care? Not really. He couldn't care less if he was late.

He slid the door open to class and everyone turned their judging eyes up to him.

"Oh, Suoh-kun. Class has already started. Please take your seat."

The red-head trudged to his seat and stared out the window, completely daydreaming and not paying attention to the many attempts at his name being called.

"Suoh-kun!" Mr. Sato yelled.

"Hn?" Mikoto lazily turned his head to the teacher.

"Glad to see I've gotten your attention. What I asked was if you knew where Totsuka-san went."

"Ah...she's still got a fever. So she's in the nurse's."

"I see. I hope she feels better."

Mikoto replied with "yeah" and went back to staring out the window. He then looked over at Kumiko's desk and just kept his eyes glued there. His gaze landed on her black backpack and saw some pieces of folder paper carelessly sticking out of the small pocket. Weird, those weren't there before. What could those be? Mr. Sato turned around to write something on the board. Mikoto took that opportunity to lean towards Kumiko's bag and take the folded piece of paper out.

_"Where'd you and Suoh-kun go, huh?"_

"Tch," Mikoto spat and crumpled the paper. He hated being back to all of this...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You have the rest of the day to work on your science project!" Everyone got up and began their work while Mikoto stayed sitting in his seat, not knowing what to do and not exactly caring too much. "You can work on this packet and turn it in on the last day of exams next week."

Mikoto eyed the thick packet and took it to begin. He saw someone pull up a chair in front of him and he looked up. When he saw who it was, he grumbled and went back to doing his work. "You can't just work in your own class room?"

"Not exactly. All of our materials are in this class room."

"Then take it and leave, Munakata."

The said boy gave a single chuckle and began his work as well. "How's Totsuka-chan?"

"Stubborn."

"As usual, hm?" A red eyebrow twitched in annoyance on Mikoto's forehead. "Did she tell you about our study group tomorrow after school?"

Mikoto looked at Munakata. What study group? There's no way Kumiko wouldn't tell him. She babbles on about so many things going on. She would've told him about it. "Hn?"

"Well as you probably know, students have the choice to either stay after school hours to prep for exams or not. Totsuka-chan, Kunogi-san, and some others including myself were all going to be a group to study tomorrow. She also asked if you could be a part of our group."

"Great. But Kumiko's got a fever."

"You're right..."

"Besides, I wouldn't want to hang around the 'others' in the group. They might just be some other classmates that'll be too busy throwing letters our way instead of studying."

"I can assure you that the ones in our group are too intimidated by you."

"Because that makes everything better."

Munakata sighed, with a small grin on his face nonetheless. "So are you deciding not to join us? Totsuka-chan is quite concerned about you."

"About me? For what?"

"She wants you to pass. So she asked me if you could be in our group."

"Tch..." Mikoto scoffed and twirled his pencil.

"Suoh, you do realize how much she cares for you, yes?"

"..."

"She seems like she's doing a lot to at least try and make you happy."

"..."

"Don't leave her like that again."

That caught his attention. "Mind your own business, Munakata."

"Just saying. She was a wreck the morning after you two had your fight."

"Keep running your mouth and see what happens," Mikoto warned.

"Not to mention what you did was completely self-centered."

"Munakata…"

"You never bothered to think about Totsuka-chan's feelings, did you?"

The red-head shot up and slammed his hands on his desk. Munakata, on the other hand, didn't seem perturbed by it. He maintained a calm, cool, and collected composure.

"Suoh-kun, if you hurt another student, I will not allow you to take your final exams and you will repeat your second year once more, understood?" Mr. Sato said.

Mikoto grumbled and sat back down to continue his work. Munakata glared at him and eventually went back to his own work.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"If you aren't going to stay after school, you're excused!"

Mikoto quickly gathered his and Kumiko's things and stood up to leave.

"Suoh," Munakata spoke up. "Wish Totsuka-chan good health for me."

"...Sure," Mikoto mumbled and rushed out of the class to check up on the said girl.

He slid the door open to the nurse's office and was greeted by a different nurse. This lady looked like she had zero tolerance for anything at the moment. She was a slightly plump lady with her hair tied up in a high bun.

"How can I help you?" She asked in a nice voice. She looked like she wanted to slap Mikoto, but when she spoke, she gave off a whole new, nicer aura.

"Just here to see Kumiko Totsuka."

"She's lying down," the nurse motioned for Mikoto to go over to the beds. He thanked her and headed over to Kumiko's bed near one of the windows. He saw that the curtain by her bed was covering her, and all he could see was her silhouette behind the curtain. He slowly pushed the curtain back and saw her sprawled out on the bed asleep. An ice pack slipped off of her forehead. Her brunette locks were spread out carelessly across the pillow. Her face was still flushed a light scarlet color.

He grasped her shoulder and lightly shook it. "Oi, Kumiko."

She stirred in her sleep and slowly opened her eyes. She saw Mikoto staring down at her and she gave him a minuscule scowl. "Mikoto, shouldn't you be in class?" She held her throat and rubbed at it.

"School's done."

"Hmmm? Really?" She mumbled and tried to push herself up. With every move she made, she felt like she was going to throw up and her muscles ached. Mikoto noticed her struggle and slowly helped her up. She held her sweater in hand and used the red-head as support to try and stand up. Her knees were wobbly and she gripped Mikoto's sweater even tighter.

He turned around and said, "hop on."

It took a little while but Kumiko jumped on Mikoto's back and he piggybacked her home with no struggle from her, not even a peep. He could hear her calm, steady breaths, although they were a lot deeper than normal. Not only that, but he could feel her warm breaths on his neck. It sent shivers down his spine, but he maintained an expressionless facade.

For the first time in a long time, the setting sun could be seen in the sky instead of gray clouds. The beautiful purples, oranges, and light pinks danced together across the sky. When walking past the park, there were other students walking home, laughing and gossiping about who knows what. There were not too many people on the way back to Kumiko's house, so the said girl could rest easily on his back. There were a few noisy children running around the pathway and around the other people, but Kumiko didn't squirm around. However, she eventually opened her eyes and took in her surroundings as well.

"Mikoto?" She softly said in his ear.

"Hn?" Her soft voice and breath against his neck made the hair at the back of his neck stand even more.

She looked up at the sky and gave a small smile. "The sky's so pretty."

He smirked. "Hn," He grunted in reply.

Mikoto could hear her steady breathing once again and soon realized that she had fallen asleep again.

He arrived at her house and maneuvered to open the gate with Kumiko still on his back. He looked a bit clumsy trying to keep her on his back and open the gate. He heard foot steps turn the corner and he stopped what he was doing to see who it was.

"King!"

"Hey, can you open this?" He asked Tatara. The teen did so and they both walked through the yard and into the house.

"What happened to her?"

"Fever."

"I'll make her some food! You can take her upstairs."

The red-head walked up the stairs and opened her door with his foot. He sat her down on her bed and untangled her arms from his neck. After laying her down, he grabbed Kumiko's bag and fished out the notes from their dear classmates.

"Hmm..." He turned around and saw Kumiko laying on her side, staring at him with dazed eyes. "What're you doing?"

"...Nothin'..."

"What're those?" She reached her hand out.

"It's nothin'."

"Mikoto," she begged.

He sighed and explained to her, "it's just your fan mail..."

She extended her hand out farther, silently asking Mikoto to give her the notes.

"It's just gonna make you feel worse."

She smiled. "I'm fine."

He grumbled, but still didn't give her the letters. "No."

She gave him puppy dog eyes and did her best to try and make her eyes water. Mikoto sighed and handed her the notes. She opened them all one by one...

_"Now you guys are doin' it at school?"_

_"You're **** buddy's back I see..."_

_"Geez you guys couldn't wait until you got home!"_

_"Still waiting for my turn~"_

Kumiko sighed and gave the letters back to Mikoto. "It doesn't even bother me anymore..."

Mikoto sat on the side of the bed and cupped the side of her face as he stroked her cheek. She hummed contentedly as she held his hand and smiled a weak smile. "Does it bother you?"

He furrowed his brows and grumbled. Kumiko stroked his hand on her face. He calmed down, somewhat, and said, "you're staying home tomorrow you know."

She frowned and grumbled, making Mikoto smirk. Kumiko finally gave in to her fever and decided to let herself rest. "I'll help you out."

Kumiko stopped stroking Mikoto's hand. "No, you have to go to school tomorrow!"

He was about to argue with her, but when he looked back down at her, he saw that her eyes were watery and it looked like she was about to cry. Mikoto rose an eyebrow at her. "Kumiko?"

She wiped her eyes and chuckled. "Sorry...what time were you going home?"

"You want me to leave?"

"Well...I don't want you to get sick."

"Don't worry about me."

"But-"

"Do you really want me to leave?"

Kumiko knew how this was going to work out. If she said something along the lines of "...no...but..." then Mikoto would have stayed. Although she didn't want him to go, she didn't want him getting sick and see her looking like a mess. So she told him, "yes."

She nodded and yawned. "Yeah."

He was a bit upset to hear her response. So he asked, "…You sure?"

"Yes."

His expression remained blank and unchanging. He bent down and placed a long and soft kiss to her cheek. "Stay safe," she said. "See you later."

He smirked and walked out of her room. Mikoto made his way to the door, but before he could step outside, Tatara came up to him with a tray of soup and medicine pills in hand and said, "King, you're not going to stay?"

"No."

"What? Why?"

"Kumiko wants me to go."

Tatara gave him a soft smile. "Well she probably has a good reason. See you later then!"

The younger teen cautiously walked up the stairs while trying to balance the tray. Mikoto waited until he saw Tatara turn the corner and out of sight before he walked out the door.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Tatara was quietly humming a random tune and he placed his foot in front of Kumiko's door to push it open. Before his foot made contact with the door, he heard sniffling coming from the other side. He placed his head closer to hear what was going on. He kept hearing sniffling from Kumiko and thought that maybe she might just have a running nose. But once he decided that he eavesdropped enough, he took a step to walk inside and stopped immediately. He heard a quiet sob followed by another one, and eventually, her sobs turned into slightly louder cries.

"Onee-chan?" He softly said.

She peeped her eyes out from under the covers and he saw her red, puffy eyes with tears running down the side of her face. Tatara quickly set the tray of food down and sat on the side of her bed. He didn't hesitate in pulling her into a hug.

"What's wrong?"

"..."

"Did King do something?"

She shook her head. "Mom and Dad left already, right?"

"Mhm. They left a long note in the kitchen."

"Oh..."

Tatara pat Kumiko on the back and tried to soothe her. "Why did you ask King to go home?"

"I...I didn't want him...to get sick...from me," she clasped her hands over her mouth and ran out of bed. She ran into the bathroom, held her hair back, and leaned over the toilet to throw up.

"Onee-chan!" Tatara ran in the bathroom after her and attempted to calm her down. "I didn't want him...to see me like this...too."

"You should go to the doctor's!" Tatara said and placed his hands on her shoulders.

She shrugged his hands off. "...No. It's not that bad."

He sighed. "You _are _staying home tomorrow. I'll take care of you, okay? Missing one day of school to take care of my sister isn't a huge deal."

She looked at him and whimpered before turning over the toilet again. She ran her hand through her bangs and took deep breaths in and out. Kumiko cleaned herself up and took cautious, slow steps back to her room.

"Tatara," she called once she settled herself in her bed again.

"Yeah?"

"Can…can you get the note from Mom and Dad…please?"

He nodded and jogged to the kitchen to retrieve said note.

Kumiko stared at her desk and looked at the pictures decorating the area above it. There was one of her foster parents, Tatara, and her at an amusement park on a rollercoaster. They all had huge grins plastered to their faces rather than ones of fear. Her eyes moved to a different picture of her and the family. The one she was looking at was of the same people, her foster parents, her, and Tatara standing in front of a Christmas tree. Kumiko and Emiko were wearing dark, red sweaters while Tatara and Ken were wearing long sleeved, button down black shirts. Her favorite one, though, had to be the Purikura picture next to it. Her and Tatara were doing a goofy pose together while Ken and Emiko attempted to make a pose in the back, but it looked like they were laughing too hard.

Tatara came back with a piece of paper in his hands and he gave it to Kumiko. She sat up to read it with her younger brother at her side.

_"Hey kiddos,_

_Thanks for letting us be your foster parents. Even though we ended up being out and about with work, we always thought about you guys. Ken is feeling really bad and sorry about what he's done. He hasn't said anything since you guys left for school. We're so sorry this had to happen. But you probably don't want to hear our apologies. And I get it. But know that we both REALLY love you guys. Thank you for the fun times we all had before we had to constantly work. :) _

_Love, Mom & Dad_

_"Hey guys. It's Dad here. You're mom basically wrote what I would have written. But I wish I really could have fixed my gambling problem a long time ago. Some father I am, huh? I really do regret it. I won't forget all of our times at amusement parks, shopping, celebrating your guys' birthdays. We love you guys with all of our hearts and we'll always be here for you guys. You guys have our numbers right? Call us whenever you want. :)_

_Love you guys, Dad & Mom"_

Kumiko saw that some of the paper looked smeared and wrinkled. Like they were crying while writing it. She saw two water droplets fall to the paper and she wiped at her wet eyes. Her tears increased and she started to full on cry. Tatara saw this and he pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay, Onee-chan. I'm still here," he smiled. "We'll stick together and just watch out for each other!"

She nodded.

"Don't sweat it. It'll all work out somehow."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
**Woo done!  
Should I continue to PM or just respond in the chapter? idk  
So I thought I'd be able to update on Wednesday, but I ended up being out and about because it was my birthday. lol. So yeah...**

**hlflores: Yeah Kumiko's a good sport. :) Thanks!**

**Erlomast: Here's the 14th chapter. :) And...naaahh she's alright in Tatara's care. I also love said boy's attitude as well! That's why I enjoy writing his character. It actually puts _me _in a good mood too. haha!**

**XxkittycloudxX: Aw shucks. haha. 101 is a good number. it's...original! :D but anyways, thanks for reading! ((i see what you did there, youu. that was good, that was good))**

**Guest: I know I'm so sorry for not updating! Had one more week of summer school left. Therefore, I had more work still. I'm not too good with sticking to my update dates. I guess all that matters is that I update, right? Unless the dates matter a lot. I'm just happy to see when my favorite fanfictions update. :) Anyways, I actually still do read your fic ;) But I've been slow at it. ((sigh)) I'm so terrible at these things. lol so sorry! But thank you for reviewing!**

**Kyoichi Amaya: haha! thanks! the closest thing we can get to the anime world are the conventions. lol. :)**

**AevalPantheraaa: So many questions that I must answer! And so many questions I'm asking myself too. Seriously I'm just a hashtagyoloswag author. Sometimes I'll plan out everything, but other times I'll just think, "ah this sounds good" and put it in the fic. But of course I do go back to edit and omit :) Thanks for the review!**

**Alice: Thank you! Mikoto's a hard character to write though! Gotta keep his expressions calm, but violent, and try to make him loving at the same time like whaddahell. But I'm glad you think so :) AND THANK YOU! I blush everytime I go back and read it. But getting used to it. :)**

**THANKS FOR EVERYTHING! IT REALLY MEANS A LOT! :D**

**-can i just get to when they're adults already?-**


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